Seeds of Evil
by DragonChild157
Summary: Fourteen years ago, Harley Quin was breifly seen pregnant. Now the Joker has unveiled his child to Batman and the world, and he's taking his family on a crime spree in Gotham. And there seems to be nothing the dynamic duo can do to stop them. But as they continue to combat this new tide of wickedness, Dick begins to form the suspicion that there's more to this than meets the eye...
1. Prologue

So yeah, just to warn you this is subject to change. My muse is giving me fits over this due to the black eye I gave her recently...don't ask. Anyway, I don't care what she says I'm writing it!

Boring Disclaimer: I do not own Batman the animated series, blah blah blah, whatever, you get the idea.

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ENJOY!

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"Harley! Be a dear and throw me my hammer?" Joker yelled.

Batman groaned, struggling to stand after that last hit. His eyes swept the decrepit old warehouse, knowing Harley could be anywhere.

"Right away Mr. J!" Harley yelled.

Batman's head whipped to the left and his eyes widened, his jaw dropping. Harley skipped into the flickering light, the pom-poms on her hat bouncing madly with each step and the massive wooden hammer clenched in her slender hands.

Joker cackled at the Batman's stunned expression, taking the hammer from Harley with one hand and looping the other around her waist, pulling her close to his side. Twirling the hammer as easily as if it were a baton, Joker ran his hand across Harley's stomach, absentmindedly rubbing her belly with his fingers.

"What's a matter Bat's?" He laughed. "You look like a snake just crawled _right_ up your shorts!"

Cackling like the maniac he was, he let go of Harley and lunged for the Batman, swinging his hammer wildly at Batman's head. It took everything the dark knight had to wrench his gaze away from Harley and duck under the hammer. His fist connected with the Joker's jaw with a satisfying smack. He whipped around, slamming a roundhouse kick into the Joker's stomach.

His breath completely knocked away, the clown prince of crime crumpled to the floor. Wasting no time in handcuffing the clown, Batman scanned the room for Harley, expecting to see her coming at him in an attempt to rescue her boss and lover.

To his surprise and dismay, Harley was nowhere in sight. He stood for a long moment, surveying the ancient warehouse for any sign of her.

He glared silently down at the Joker.

This was all Joker's fault, and yet another life was going to be ruined because of this madman. Frustrated at his inability to do _anything_ to stop it, the dark night grabbed the Joker by the scruff and a massive handful of his purple jacket, dragging the whining and complaining young man out to the waiting bat mobile.

In less than ten minutes he had dropped the Joker off at Gotham Police headquarters, hanging the handcuffed crook by his ankles from the light post out front where he would be impossible for the various cops going in and out of the building to miss.

Exhausted, he turned the car toward the bat cave and home.

The image of the clown popped up in his mind's eye as he drove. He shuddered to think that, had circumstances been different, he could just as easily be the one in the clown makeup.

His mind drifted to what he had seen that night, and it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his body, settling in the pit of his stomach in a hard cold knot that would not go away.

Alfred was patiently waiting when the bat mobile pulled in.

He would never let Bruce know, but he worried. His master had started his crime fighting career little more than a year ago, and the criminals, the _psychos_ the Batman attracted kept the English butler up at night anxiously waiting for his master, friend, and charge to come home safely.

He had lost track of how many times the dark knight had returned from patrol injured. The idea that a night might come when his young master might not come back at all terrified the Englishman more than he cared to admit.

But tonight he could breathe a sigh of relief. It was hard to tell with that gray and black suit, but so far as he could tell, Bruce had returned unharmed. He paused, frowning. His master seemed more somber than usual.

"Master Bruce? Is something wrong?"

Batman nodded. "Yes Alfred. Something is _very_ wrong."

"Are you injured?" Alfred asked anxiously, his hand already reaching for the nearby first aid kit he always kept well stocked and on hand here in the bat cave.

Batman smiled one of his rare, small smiles. "No Alfred, I'm all right." He sighed and pulled back his cowl, revealing his face to the cool air of the cave. "Do you remember that psychiatrist who busted the Joker out of Arkham back in March?"

Alfred frowned thoughtfully. At the rate the Batman was attracting psycho's, he sometimes found it hard to keep their names straight.

"I seem to remember you speaking about her sir, a Miss Harleen Quinzel I believe you said her name was? If memory serves, she's since become the madman's sidekick, as it were."

Batman nodded. "That's right. I ran into the two of them tonight. Normally when Joker's in trouble, Harley comes flying to his rescue. She was different tonight. She _ran_."

Alfred raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Sir?"

Bruce met the old man's eyes. "Alfred, Harley's _pregnant_. The Joker's passed his vile DNA on..."

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DUN! Dun! dun! (evil cackle) oh Batman, you have no idea...

Please reveiw and tell me what you think!

Untill next time...


	2. Say Hello To Joker Jr

Well, the response to this story was not as good as I would 'ave hoped, but at least one person's watching so I'm gonna go ahead and write it anyway. Besides, this story kind of serves as a backstory for a Young Justice fic I intend to write somewhere in the future.

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_ENJOY!_

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_Fourteen years later…_

"Give it up Joker. You've got nowhere left to run." Batman slowly stalked down the dead end alley, Robin at his side.

The Joker stood at the other end, his back to the wall. Batman's eyes narrowed. Something was off. Normally the Joker would be cowering right now, trapped as he was. He might throw out a pithy joke or two, maybe make a last ditch attempt at escape.

This easy confidence was alien to him.

Joker cackled. "That's what you think Batfake!" looking up at the roof above him, he hollered. "Throw me a line Harley!"

A rope tumbled down out of the night sky, landing at his feet. Waving a cheeky goodbye, Joker planted a foot in the loop tied in the rope and was whisked away, back toward the roof. "Adios muchachos!"

Robin snorted. "No way is he getting away that easy!"

Mentor and protégé pulled grapples from their belts in the same instant, firing them skyward with a practiced hand and keen eyes. They were on the roof in minutes, racing after the figures of Joker and Harley Quin.

Batman glanced sideways out of the corner of his eye as they vaulted from one rooftop to the next. It never failed to amaze him how easily this twelve year old boy could keep up with him.

They came to the skylight Joker and Harley had disappeared through and dropped through it without hesitation. The twelve year old in question did a double front flip on the way down, sticking the landing with an ease and grace that would have made an Olympic gymnast green with envy.

He cocked an eyebrow at his young partner.

Robin grinned. "What?"

"A little extravagant tonight aren't we?" The two made their way down the hall. They could see the clowns a good ways down the hall ahead of them and were doing their best to catch up.

Robin shrugged. "Couldn't resist." He answered. "It's in the blood you know!"

They entered a large main room and stopped, eyes sweeping the room. Dust covered every available surface, rising in little puffs around their feet. Aside from a few old wooden crates stacked here and there, and bits and pieces of trash scattered across the floor the room was bare. The only exit was the one they had just come through. The Joker and Harley were nowhere in sight.

Robin shifted nervously. "Where'd they go?"

Batman remained silent, his eyes settling on the only stack of crates big enough to hide the two clowns. He motioned silently to Robin, asking him to keep watch. The clowns were most likely behind that stack of crates, but it wasn't impossible for them to have split up and hidden behind separate crates.

Robin nodded, understanding.

Neither got the chance to move.

A loud bang resounded in the still night air. A weighted net enveloped the dynamic duo, pinning them both to the floor.

Harley did several slow cartwheels out from behind her box and across the floor, coming to a landing beside the Joker. Cackling madly, the crazed clown darted forward to press his joy buzzer against the hero's, being sure to hit Robin first to torment the dark night with the youth's scream of pain.

"It was so nice of you two to accept our invitation!" he chortled, hugging Harley close to his side. "The party simply wouldn't be the same without you!"

Robin groaned softly, unable to move. His limbs felt like jelly, his head full of cotton. He could only just vaguely feel Batman laying on the floor beside him, hear the dark knights harsh breathing as he panted for breath.

Joker continued his monologue, rattling on to his captive audience and loving every minute of it. "After all that was kind of the whole point. This is sort of a coming out party as it were." He crouched in front of the two prostrate hero's. "You see, I've got someone here I want you to meet."

He leered at the Batman, completely ignoring the boy wonder. "No matter what you do Batman, I'll always plague Gotham." He chortled with glee.

He stood. "Be it personally, or through my _descendents_."

Robin's eyes widened. _**Descendents? Does he mean what I think he means?**_

The world around him was still spinning like a merry-go-round, but he somehow managed to focus on Batman's face. To most, the dark nights face would have appeared as stony and inscrutable as ever. But to Robin, the slightest crease of the features, or quirk of a lip spoke volumes.

"Ladies and gentleman, boys and _bats_! Introducing…Joker Junior!"

Robin frowned. His bleary eyes were beginning to clear, but his body felt like he'd been repeatedly run over by a semi truck.

A slender figure stepped from behind the pile of crates Batman had originally been heading for.

The purple clad figure came to a stop in front of them, giving a dramatic bow. In a purple suite and green bow tie he was quite the spitting image of his father. Bleach white skin and brilliant red lips graced the boy's features, his dark brows raised and teeth bared in silent mirth.

He squatted down to get a better look at the caped crusaders.

Seeing him up close, his mother's influence became more apparent. His dark, black green hair was shot through with pale gold highlights. But his eyes were what drew the boy wonder's interest. They were not sky blue like his mother's, nor were they the horrible watery yellow eyes of his father.

These dark, blue gray eyes were all his own.

Those eyes were now somberly gazing down at the helpless heroes, belying the mirth on his face. And the boy wonder couldn't help but think that there was something familiar about those eyes.

"These are the two who have been giving you so much trouble father?" he asked, looking up and over his shoulder at the joker. "They seem pretty easy to catch to me."

Harley giggled. Joker gave her a look, then returned his attention to his teenage son. "Oh catching them isn't so hard when you've got the right bait." He cackled. "They're like mice to the cheese! No, no my boy, it's _keeping_ them caught that's the trick! But that's all going to be over after tonight." He held up his hand, his joy buzzer sending off wild crackles of electricity. "Tonight starts the Joker family night on the town! Ha ha ha!"

"That's what you think chuckles!"

Robin slashed at the net with one of his batarangs, cutting it to shreds in an instant. At the same time, he planted both feet firmly in the small of his mentors back and kicked off as hard as he could. Admittedly his small body didn't have the weight necessary to propel the Batman far, but it put a good five feet in between the two of them- making it harder for the Joker to recapture them.

Batman rolled to his feet. He was still shaky, his muscles burning from the excessive electricity. But he refused to let that stop him. He couldn't leave Robin to face the Jokers alone.

_**Move Bruce. Robin needs you. **_**Dick **_**needs you!**_

The trio of clowns backed away, their smiles fading. Joker suddenly laughed. "See JJ? What'd I tell ya? It's keeping them _in_ the net that's hard."

Joker Junior shook his head. "You weren't kidding!"

A rare frown formed on the Joker's face. "Unfortunately not." He glared at the two heroes, a deathly silence falling over the tense standoff. His maniacal smile suddenly returned at full force. "JJ, my boy, I think it's time we made our exit."

The boy nodded, pulling a small sphere the size of a golf ball from his coat pocket. Grinning, he flung it at the floor a few feet in front of them. A brilliant flash of sickly green light briefly blinded the heroes. When their eyes had adjusted, the clowns were gone.

Robin shook his head. "Man…since when did the clowns become ninjas?"

Batman's eyes narrowed. "Come on. There's nothing more we can do here." He turned and stalked away, black cape instantly blending in with the deep shadows of the unlit hall.

Robin sighed and quietly followed, wincing at the deep ache in his limbs and body.

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Well? What do you think? Should I keep writing? Or should I just move on to something else?

Reveiw please!

Untill next time...


	3. Puzzles and Clues

Wow! Life's funny, one day you've only got one reader, and the next day you've got ten or twelve! Thank you for the encouragement guys! You rock!

**Boring Disclaimer:** I do not own BTAS or any of the cannon characters, blah blah blah however, JJ is MINE so paws off! You wanna use him you BETTER ask permission first!

That being said...

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ENJOY!

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The ride back to the mansion was silent, though not in an uncomfortable or strained way.

_**You should have seen it coming.**_ Batman silently brooded, berating himself. He pulled the car to a stop inside the bat cave and shut it off.

Without a word to Robin he walked away, disappearing into the depths of the cave, his mind deep in thought.

Alfred looked after his master in bemusement as they made their way through the cave toward the changing rooms. "Now what was that all about Master Dick? He seems a bit more…somber than usual."

Dick nodded grimly. "I'll say!"

Alfred eyed his young charge. "If you do not mind my saying so Master Dick, you seem to be in a rather dire mood yourself."

Dick chuckled and pulled his mask off. "Yeah, I guess I am. But there's a good reason." Seeing Alfred's quirked eyebrow, he sighed and sank down onto a bench. "Joker and Harley introduced us to their kid today." He smiled a little in satisfaction as their normally unflappable butler's jaw hit the floor. "His name's Joker Junior."

Alfred closed his mouth and shook his head. "Incredible." He murmured. "I had almost forgotten that they had a child."

Now it was Robin's turn to drop his jaw in shock. "You knew? Why didn't anyone tell me?"

Alfred shook his head. "It is not like that Master Dick. Allow me to explain."

He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts. "Fourteen years ago, in Batman's early days, Master Bruce came across Joker and Harley. He captured Joker, But Harley escaped, her belly swollen with her unborn child. Master Bruce searched for her and for the child, but he was unable to find them, and we never heard anything more of the child. We eventually came to the conclusion that the child was dead, abandoned, or put up for adoption. Now it seems we were quite mistaken."

Robin sat back against the wall. "Wow." He frowned. "Fourteen years…so he'd be fourteen or fifteen by now. I wonder where he's been all these years."

Alfred shrugged. "Who can say Master Dick? Who can say." He held out his hand and Dick took it, allowing the old servant to pull him to his feet. "Come now sir, let's get you out of those clothes..."

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Batman growled quietly as he read the police report.

It had been two weeks since the clowns had begun their "family night on the town", and the Batman had been unable to track them down. He was always a few instants too late. The reports were slowly becoming worse.

This latest report told about the trio of Joker's hijacking a six year olds birthday party.

The parents were the ever so wealthy Mr. and Mrs. Doran Abernathy, and the Joker was after the fortune in jewels they kept in a safe in their home, amongst other things.

According to statements made by witnesses, Harley was sent with Mrs. Abernathy to collect the jewels and whatever other small valuables she found along the way.

JJ was sent to search the rest of the house for any small, sellable items that that would fetch a good price. Seeing as the Abernathy's were collectors, that wasn't difficult.

Joker had remained in the main room with the family and guests, taking a sick, fiendish glee in taunting and terrorizing them. Particularly the children.

A few of the children had been playing hide and seek when the clowns had burst in and they had remained hidden, thus avoiding his depraved play. But the majority had been in his clutches for half an hour while his family looted the house.

Police had been called after he had left, leaving a joker venom gas capsule as a _gift_ for the birthday girl.

He reached the bottom of the report and frowned. These were the word for word witness statements from the children who had viewed it all from hiding. He sat back, his brow puckered thoughtfully.

"Interesting…"

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Batman being the inscrutable soul he is, I'm afraid you'll just have to wait to find out what those little kids said! I promise though, it'll brek this case wide open for him! XD

Questions? Comments? Concerns? There's a pretty lil' button down there at the bottom of the screen...PUSH IT!

Until next time...


	4. Laughter and Chewing Gum

Here's another chapter fellas! To those who commented, thank you so much! For whatever reason my computer lets me see them, but for whatever reason I can't reply to them! Grrr...so in answer to your question about JJ's backstory, you're gonna get it in snips and bits through out the story. If you have any questions by the end of this I do a short backstory for him. That work for everybody?

Anyway, onward and upward!

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ENJOY!

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"What do you think of Bud and Lou, JJ?" Harley asked curiously. She smiled warmly at her son, sitting happily on the floor with the hyenas.

He beamed up at his mother as one of the hyenas licked his cheek. "They're really cool! Where'd you get them?"

Harley shrugged. "I don't know where they came from. Mr. J just brought 'em home one day." She refrained from saying that he'd told she could baby these, he didn't want kids.

_**So much for that!**_ She thought grinning.

Bud leaned against JJ, then sprawled across the young clowns lap with a contented groan. JJ scratched the hyenas behind their ears, laughing at the way they twisted their heads so his fingers would hit the spots that itched, and at the happy sounds they made when he nailed it.

Harley stared at her son, startled.

She had always expected her son to have his father's laugh. God forbid he should end up with hers! But…this wasn't the laugh of a Joker. It lacked the wild unrestrained sound one would expect from a clown, even Harley had a touch of _that_ in her laugh. And the maniacal sound she had come to associate with her lover and boss was also absent.

Despite the fact that he was a teen, JJ's laugh was that childlike. Happy and carefree.

Innocent.

Harley shuddered and quietly walked away, leaving JJ with Bud and Lou. She loved Joker, but she hoped he never heard his son's laughter.

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"Ok. Lower him down, nice and easy."

Robin nodded, slowly letting out the rope.

The Joker's latest attack had been on a very upscale jewelry store in Gotham's business district. Upon leaving, the Joker had detonated several small bombs hidden throughout the store. Most had been placed on any and all stairs and the cables to the elevators, leaving the customers and employee's he had herded together trapped on the second floor when the front of the building was blown clean off.

Batman and Robin had arrived on the scene seconds after the Joker had made his getaway. Ordering Robin to stay and help the civilians, Batman had raced away in an attempt to catch up to the Joker before he disappeared.

For someone of Robins acrobatic skill, getting up onto the second floor had been relatively simple.

Most of the victims had escaped with minor injuries and were able to climb down the fire department ladders on their own. But a few had required stretchers, and that was where they had encountered difficulty.

The Jokers bombs had made the building somewhat fragile, and the ledge that was the second floor was threatening to crumble under the feet of the victims. Ladders had been put up through holes in the floor, supported from below by firemen and policemen. On several occasions the floor had fallen away the minute someone set their foot on the ladder, and a few people had fallen, to be caught by the men waiting below.

So how to get the stretchers upstairs for the five people to seriously injured to climb or jump down, when the floors probably wouldn't support the weight of the men who would carry them?

The solution they came up with was precarious, but simple.

Massive amounts of rope were brought and attached to the stretcher. The other ends of the ropes were threaded through the top rungs of one of the fire truck ladders and passed to the waiting men and women below, creating a makeshift crane. The stretcher was quickly hauled up on level with the ledge and stopped.

Now it was up to Robin. His slighter weight was less likely to collapse the floor.

Robin cautiously moved to the edge. He gauged the distance between the ledge and the stretcher and wished that they could've moved it a little closer. He flung a grappling hook at the stretcher, grinning when the hook caught and held. Stepping back away from the edge he reeled the stretcher in settling it on the floor by the first of the victims.

With the injured man's help, he'd managed to get the man into the stretcher and strapped him in. From there, he had called down to Gordon through a hole in the floor, letting him know that the first one was ready to be taken out.

Now, with his feet braced against a pillar to keep himself from being dragged out after the stretcher and his back resting against the cold concrete floor, Robin slowly let out the rope. The fire fighters below were pulling on the ropes to take up the slack so the stretcher didn't drag the floor and make it crumble even more.

Once the stretcher was clear of the building, they lowered away until it came to rest on the earth with a gentle bump.

The ropes were untied from the occupied stretcher and an empty one was attached. One of the police officers thoughtfully hooked Robin's grappling hook into the new stretcher, for which Robin was grateful. It would definitely speed up the process.

It was quickly hauled back up and Robin reeled it in again, already going through the other victims in his mind as he decided who was in most need of medical attention.

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Batman arrived just as the firefighters were untying the final stretcher. He could see Robin on the second floor, standing just inside.

At the sight of his mentor, a brilliant smile lit the boy wonder's tired face and he waved.

Eager to get down out of the crumbling second story, Robin waited until the stretcher was out of the way then made a leap for the ropes. Gasps rose from the crowd, the observers certain the boy was done for. Many were shocked to notice that the Batman didn't seem concerned at all.

He seemed more annoyed than anything else.

Robin caught the double set of ropes and whooped as he kicked off against the fire truck ladder, rather than allowing himself to bodily slam into it. Swinging round in a wide arc, he let one of the ropes play through his fingers, dropping rapidly to the ground.

One of the police officers moved forward, thinking to catch the boy, as Robin's feet hit the ground and he apparently lost his balance. Batman merely crossed his arms, his face declaring a patient, long suffering attitude to anyone who knew him well.

To anyone else he appeared as inscrutable as ever.

Robin allowed his momentum to carry him forward, tucking into a somersault and rolling to his feet, coming to a dead stop in front of his mentor. He grinned up at the dark knight, knowing full well that the tiny quirk at the corner of his mentors mouth meant he wasn't in trouble.

If Bruce hadn't been in his Batman persona he would have been smiling. And that was what his protégé had intended all along. Bruce had had a hard life and he didn't smile often enough in Dick's opinion, and Batman smiled even less. Robin counted that tiny hint of a smile as a huge success.

"Finished?" Batman asked, hiding any trace of amusement in his voice. He didn't want to encourage his already reckless protégé. One of these days Robin was going to get himself hurt, or worse killed, because of his over confidence.

Robin nodded, the grin never fading as he fell into step beside his mentor. "Yep. All the victims are cleared out, bomb squad's checked to make sure there aren't any more bombs that might go off, and the police and firefighters are keeping civilians out of the building."

Batman rolled his eyes behind the safety of his cowl's lenses, knowing no one would see. He had _meant_ Robins theatrics.

"So, did you catch up with the Joker?"

He cast a disparaging look at the teen and Robin flushed, hurriedly looking away. If Batman had caught Joker, the clown would be standing next to them in handcuffs. No way would Batman ask a cop to take Joker to jail.

Joker was an innovative creep and he'd escaped from the GCPD on more than one occasion, usually killing or maiming the officers who were holding him captive.

The last time a police officer had tried, he had managed to deliver the Joker to Arkham, but had suffered the loss of an eye along the way. Doctors were later able to put the eye back in, but the sight in that eye wasn't what it used to be.

That was why Batman took Joker to Arkham himself if at all possible.

"Ok…maybe a better question would be if you found any clues…"

Batman nodded. He wasn't being harsh, he was teaching the boy to think and observe. Robin should have known the answer to his question before he made it.

"That would be a better question." He agreed. "And the answer is yes." He pulled a small plastic bag from a compartment on his utility belt and passed it to Robin.

Robin scrutinized the contents curiously.

They arrived at the car and Robin looked up at Batman, incredulity on his face. "You're kidding."

Batman just looked at him. "I don't kid." He answered, climbing into his car. "Joker Junior dropped it while making his escape. It will lead us to wherever the Joker's hiding."

Robin climbed into his seat and buckled up, still not convinced. "I know you're the world's greatest detective and all, but even _you_ can't find out where the Joker's hiding using a stick of chewing gum." He dropped the plastic bag and it's tin foil wrapped confection on the armrest.

The hood of the Batmobile closed, and Batman allowed a smile to appear on his lips. "We'll see…"

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LOL, Robin will never learn. It could be a hyena hair, or maybe a dust partical and Batman would still prabably be able to figure it out! Why? Because he's the Batman!

Review please!

Untill next time...


	5. Cold Nose, Warm Heart

Been really busy with school lately and I've got a big test coming up this week (which I have yet to study for), not sure how fast I'll be able to keep the updates coming, but I promise I'll do my best not to leave you guys dangling to long. that being said, here's a small something to tide you over. I've already started work on the next chapter but I couldn't upload it what I have as it totally wouldn't make sense just yet.

Thanks ever so much to those of you who reveiwed! You know who you are and I commend you!

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ENJOY!

* * *

JJ sniffled and wiped the blood from his nose with a napkin.

Remembering what he'd been told as a child, he put the napkin under his nose and leaned forward. It was funny, he thought. In movies you always saw the person with the bloody nose pinch their nose closed and lean their head back, but that was wrong, because it forced you to swallow the blood that would otherwise come out your nose. It was better to just let it flow.

It would stop bleeding soon enough.

He glanced across the room at his parents. His father was working at his desk on yet another plan to trap/kill/horribly maim the dark knight. The blasted bird boy to if he could manage it, though the main priority was the Batman. Joker crumpled up another piece of paper and threw it over his shoulder, muttering about it being rubbish, and started again. JJ shook his head. Super heroes were notoriously hard to kill, but that being said, how hard could it be?

He looked for his mother.

Harley was in the kitchen. The kitchen was one of the few places Harley would take off her mask in Mr. J's presence, and then only when she was cooking. She was cooking today. He smiled. His child-like mother never ceased to make him smile in amusement at her happy-go-lucky and often times sardonic sense of humor.

She had her pretty blonde hair pulled up in two pig tails, which would normally be shoved into the ears of her jesters cap to give them more bounce. She giggled and hummed as she stirred the contents of a pot on the stove, happy, and completely content to be so. Even the bruise on her cheek from where her lover had belted her yet again couldn't put a damper on her spirits tonight.

A cold nose and a quiet chuckle drew JJ's attention back.

One of the hyenas, he thought it was Bud but it might have been Lou, gently nosed his bare foot again. It was all the hyena could reach, as JJ was currently perched on top of a large piece of machinery.

It had to be Bud, the distinctive patterning of the hyena's coat gave him away. His brother Lou was standing next to him. Both were looking anxiously up at him.

JJ smiled. He carefully climbed down from the machinery to sit on the floor with the hyenas.

Finding that his nose had stopped bleeding for the most part, he dropped the napkin on the floor to one side. Lou sniffed at his face, noting the blood on the teen's lip and chin where the blood had dribbled. Ever so cautiously, as though he wasn't sure what he was doing was right, the hyena leaned in and gently began to lick JJ's face clean.

It hurt, but JJ leaned his head back against the machinery and closed his eyes, submitting to the hyena's ministrations. He felt Bud join in on his chin and smiled.

With awesome pets like these, being a villain definitely had it's perks!

* * *

Harley finished setting the table and looked around for her lover and her son.

Joker was still working at his desk, exactly where he was when she left him to go cook dinner. The only thing that had changed was the pile of wadded paper behind him, which had grown taller. She called him to dinner, then looked for her son.

It took her a few minutes to find him. He wasn't in any of his normal spots.

A splash of purple amid the tans, golds, blacks, and browns drew her to the hyenas. Her heart warmed up and melted at the sight.

JJ was laying on his side, fast asleep, the hyenas laying on either side of him. Bud was laying in front of JJ, his head turned so that his head and neck formed a sort of pillow for the comatose teen. Pressing his body as close to the sleeping boy as he could, Lou had opted to lie against JJ's back. He had chosen rest his head on JJ's side, choosing the soft, warm hollow between the boy's hip and rib cage.

Moving nothing but their eyes and ears, lest they wake their young master, the hyenas looked up at Harley curiously.

Harley smiled. "Thank you babies." She whispered. Their short ragged tails wagged in acknowledgment.

Kneeling down by Bud, Harley gently brushed some of her child's short green black hair off his forehead. She had discovered early on that her son was a light sleeper and even something as simple as this would wake him, which was why the hyenas hadn't dared to move.

She wasn't disappointed.

JJ's eyes snapped open immediately. He blinked a few times, seemingly getting his bearings, then he smiled at Harley.

"Hello mother."

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D'aaawww, ain't that cute? Don't worry, the action pics up next chapter with a BANG and some character death!...Ok, I was just joking about the character death, I couldn't possible do that to the poor dears. (cowers in fear under Batman's glare) ...promise...

What do'st thou think? Cyber cookies to those who reveiw!

And to those miscreants who keep stealing my cookies without reveiwing, next time it happens I'm sicking Bud and Lou on you!

Until next time...


	6. Everything Burns

Here's the action I promised! Thanks for all the lovely compliments fellas! You guys rock!

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ENJOY!

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He had him! He so _had_ him now! No way was the clown going to get away this time!

Robin dashed after the fleeing figure, paying no heed to the many doors he passed in the corridor as he raced to catch his quarry.

They had gotten a call about an hour ago. The Joker was in the middle of a strike!

Someone had _actually_ managed to call 9-1-1 without him seeing, and the three clowns were cornered in the mall…for all of five seconds after they discovered the police were moving in. Batman and Robin had arrived just in time to see Joker come racing out a side door, his family in tow, and dart down an alley.

During the course of the chase, JJ had tripped and tumbled headlong on the pavement.

Seeing his pursuers no more than ten feet behind him and closing fast, the teen had made a desperate lung into a side alley, just barely avoiding the hands of his captors.

"Go after Jr. I'll keep on Harley and the Joker!" Batman had said grimly, not pausing for an instant.

And so Robin had followed after Joker Jr. very nearly catching the older boy on a couple of occasions. Now the chase was coming to an end.

JJ was tiring, Robin could tell from the way his stride was breaking down, becoming clumsy. He wasn't in shape like Robin was. It wouldn't be long now!

Robin raced out of the hall and skidded to a stop, his momentum nearly carrying him over the iron railing and into the massive work area of the warehouse! He stood at the railing, panting and wide eyed from his narrow escape.

Hands suddenly grabbed his legs, lifting him up and flipping him over the railing and dropping him down into a massive pile of tarp covered crates! He tried to do a flip in midair, desperate to right himself.

He wasn't fast enough.

Robin cried out as he slammed into the crates, his shoulder taking the brunt of the hit and making him fully aware of it. Robin scrabbled at the tarp, trying to stop himself, only to have the rough fabric slip and send him tumbling down the pile of crates. He lost track of how many crates he hit, bouncing off of this one or slamming into that one on his way down. All he knew was that he was glad to finally hit the floor, concrete though it was.

It meant that he had finally stopped!

Robin groaned. A line from an old Disney film came to his mind, and he couldn't help but think how appropriate it was. _**"I've felt worse pain than this. Can't think of any right now but…" **_His eyes drifted across the ceiling to land on JJ, standing at the railing above him.

Pain stabbed him from several directions, and he grimaced. _**If something's not broken I'll be amazed! It feels like I just went six rounds with a circus strongman and lost. Badly!**_ He frowned, a familiar scent drifting to his nostrils.

_**Wait a minute, is that smoke?**_

Above him, JJ slowly backed away from the railing, disappearing into the dark corridors of the warehouse. Robin tried to get up, tried to follow him. He gasped, nearly passing out from the pain in his shoulder, ribs, and all along his right leg.

_**Maybe I'd better stay here.**_

He lay back on the cool concrete floor and dug a small device from a compartment on his belt with his good arm. Pressing a button on it, he tucked the lighter sized device back into his belt and closed his eyes. Batman would come for him. As soon as he got back to the Batmobile, it would tell him that Robin had turned his transceiver on and would show him exactly where he was.

All Robin had to do was wait.

He was never sure how long he lay there, but he knew it couldn't have been too long. Robin opened his eyes. The smell of smoke was stronger now. Grimacing, he managed to prop himself up on his elbows, craning his neck to try and see. In the space of an instant, his whole world went up in flames.

No warning.

The bomb had been a powerful one! It had blown half of the warehouse to kingdom come, and the rest was already well engulfed in flames! Robin looked around wildly, desperately trying to locate a way out, his ears ringing from the blast. Spying a likely exit, he began to drag himself toward it. He didn't get far.

A loud 'CRACK' was all the warning he had.

A massive flaming beam tumbled down from what was left of the ceiling, pinning the boy wonder to the floor at the waist! Robin grimaced, trying to push the flaming beam off his body with his good arm. No luck. Again and again he tried, to no avail. Tears welled in his eyes. He was going to die in here! Pinned under a beam.

Helpless.

He thought of Alfred back at Wayne manner. How devastated the elderly servant would be. His thoughts turned to Bruce. The _Batman_. Bruce would be shattered! Broken beyond recall! Maybe that was the whole point. That was why JJ had led him here. To trap him and blow him sky high.

_**Except their plan didn't work quite the way they hoped. It worked better…**_

If anything could decimate the Batman more than the death of his protégé, it was the knowledge that that death had been an exceptionally painful one. Robin grimaced, baring his teeth against the pain and the death that destiny had chosen for him. No way in hell was he giving up that easily! _**No way in hell…**_

_**...sure looks like hell.**_

He wiped the tears from his eyes and tried again. And again. And _again_. He couldn't budge the beam more than a centimeter. He coughed, the smoke beginning it's deadly work. The flames from the burning beam were beginning to eat through his suit, reaching down through the charred fabric to bite the pale skin it protected.

Robin screamed, new tears starting to his eyes.

His eyes suddenly widened behind his mask. Through the haze of smoke, fire, and tears, he could see JJ. The purple clad figure was on the balcony again, the corridor that he had apparently intended to use as an exit now belching flames and smoke.

The son of the Joker raced straight at the railing, much as Robin had not all that long ago.

"Look out!" Robin yelled. JJ didn't seem to hear. He continued running, slamming into the railing at full force. But there was a difference between his collision and Robins.

His was _deliberate!_

Instead of trying to stop himself, JJ put out his hands and let his momentum carry him over in a graceful hand stand on top of the railing, twisting in mid-air as he went over the rail to land neatly on the pile of crates.

Displaying the gymnastic skill that had made his mother such an unpredictable enemy, JJ continued on into a series of flips, somersaults, and cartwheels that ended with him standing on the concrete floor.

Marking the same likely exit that Robin had, he ran for it, only to skid to a stop at the sight of Robin. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped in shock at the sight of the boy wonder, pinned beneath the burning beam.

Robin looked a mess!

Sweaty and covered in smoke stains from head to toe, he had soot and ash on his face from his glove when he'd tried to wipe his tears away. Despite his best efforts not to cry in front of the enemy, new tears of pain were quickly cutting tracks through the soot and ash on his cheeks, and uncontrollable sobs racked his body as the fire continued to burn into his stomach and side.

JJ's face suddenly hardened.

_**That's it. I'm done for. **_Robin thought dismally. He half expected JJ to finish him off, or maybe pull out a camera and photograph/video tape Robin's sorry state to torment the Batman with later.

But the son of the Joker didn't.

JJ jumped over the top of Robin, turning and hefting the burning beam up and off the boy wonder. With a yell, he sent it flipping end over end! JJ quickly shucked his burning gloves, hurriedly tossing them away before they could light the sleeves of his suit on fire. Turning back to Robin, he crouched.

"Can you walk?"

Stunned, Robin quickly pulled his head back into the game. Taking stock of his various injuries, he shook his head. "No. Not without help."

JJ nodded, having suspected as much. Not daring to waste the time it would take to be gentle, he hurriedly scooped up the younger, smaller boy, cradling him roughly to his chest and running for the door.

_**This is crazy! What on earth do you think you're doing? Scratch that, what the heck are you even thinking?**_ JJ mentally berated himself as he ran like a bat out of hell for the door.

_**I'm not thinking, I'm acting! I'll think about this later when half the building isn't threatening to toast me like a marshmallow!**_ He thought angrily back at himself.

He smirked as he realized he was having an argument with himself, and wondered whether that was normal or whether that was just something that came with the territory of being the Joker's son, and if it was part of being the Joker's son he wondered what the voice in his father's head sounded like.

He winced, deciding he probably didn't want to _know_ what the voice in his father's head sounded like.

Addressing the little voice in the back of his head, which sounded suspiciously like himself, he thought, _**I'll think about this later… **_

_**At which point I'll probably agree that this was an exceptionally bad idea. **_He conceded. As he reached the door, he idly wondered if this was what if felt like to go mad.

He hurriedly shifted Robin in his arms, slinging the boy wonder up over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, eliciting a scream of pain from the smaller boy when Robin's burns made impact with JJ's shoulder. JJ winced and hurriedly pulled his sleeve down over his hand, using it like an oven mitt as he tried the door.

It was locked.

He coughed. The smoke was getting to him too. "So much for the easy approach." He grumbled. He carefully set Robin down on the floor, then hurled himself bodily at the door that blocked his path to freedom.

Irritatingly in line with the luck of the evening, the door held.

JJ pulled back, preparing to ram the door again, when Robin caught his arm. He looked down at him curiously.

Coughing from all the smoke, Robin held up a lock pick. "Help me up."

JJ hurriedly did as he was told, though not quite the way Robin had meant it. He scooped the boy wonder up in his arms and held him close to the door.

Not one to quibble when their lives were at stake, Robin didn't comment.

He had the lock open in under thirty-five seconds.

As JJ kicked the door open and carried him out into the cool night air, Robin cast a silent prayer of thanks at the stars. He'd hated the incessant drilling he had undergone with Batman, constantly striving to shave a few more seconds off his time, but now he was exceptionally grateful for it! Knowing that those drills had saved his life, he determined then and there that he wouldn't complain the next time Batman drilled him to learn something…

...or at least not as much as he normally would!

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DUN! Dun! dun! What dost thou think?

Reveiw please!

Until next time...


	7. Good Samaritans

LOL, thank you so much last chapter for pointing out my spelling mistakes in the authors notes! I haven't gotten a chance to go back and fix them, but I will. Everyone who reveiwed, I hope you enjoyed your virtual cookies, there'll be more at the end of this chapter for review!

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ENJOY!

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JJ stumbled on, until they could no longer feel the heat of the fire on their backs.

Only then did he stop.

The young clown dropped his knees and set Robin on the ground, coughing and gasping after inhaling so much smoke. Robin wasn't faring much better. He had been breathing the smoke longer.

Once the deep breaths of cool night air had alleviated some of his hacking, JJ turned his attention to the boy he had saved.

Robin hadn't moved from where he had been set.

_**Ok, um… Refresh my memory for me, would you please? Exactly why did you save him again?**_

JJ frowned and was about to deliver a snappy retort to his irritating "little voice in my head" when an all too familiar smell wafted across his nose. Knowing exactly what he was going to find, he caught hold of Robin's cape and pulled it away from the boy's body.

Robin gasped as his wound was exposed to the night air and JJ's probing fingers.

Ignoring his gasps and cries of pain, JJ went over the wound with a thorough eye and a practiced hand, removing anything he found in the wound. Pulling a small flask from his pocket, he unscrewed the cap.

"This is gonna hurt."

Robin frowned, raising his head to try and see. "Wha…Ah!" He bit his lip, his body quivering with the effort to stay still.

JJ finished up ending the flask of water over Robin's wound, quickly capping it and shoving it back in his pocket. Grabbing Robin's cape, he looked it over till he found a spot that looked relatively clean and pressed it against the boy's wound, making him scream in agony.

JJ ignored Robin's scream, keeping up the pressure on wound.

He waited until Robin quieted, then rested one hand on Robin's shoulder, the other keeping the pressure. "You good?"

Gasping, Robin nodded. "W-why?" he panted tiredly.

"Why am I helping you?" JJ shrugged. "No idea honestly." He was silent, thinking about it for a minute. "Probably 'cause nothing else's gone according to plan tonight. Why should this work out?"

Robin managed a small laugh. "I know the feeling!"

JJ smiled, raising his head to look around. They were currently sitting behind a row of decorative bushes lining the front of a building, about two doors down from the now completely engulfed burning building they had escaped from.

He could see flashing lights in the distance and the sound of sirens was coming closer. He didn't have much time!

"I've gotta make like a banana and split. You gonna be ok on your own?" He asked.

Robin grimaced and nodded. "Yeah. Batman's on his way. I won't be here alone for long."

JJ nodded. "K. In that case sayonara." He grabbed one of Robin's hands and pressed it to the cape covered wound. "Keep it covered ok?" he paused and a small, genuine, lopsided grin came to his face.

Robin couldn't be sure, but he thought there might have been something new and warm in Joker Juniors dark, blue gray eyes.

"Hang tight bird boy. Be seein' ya."

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"Robin?" Batman's eyes darted around the streets and alleys.

According to the Batmobile, Robin should be right here. This was where Robin's tracker said he should have been. "Robin?" he called again.

Some of the police and firemen were watching him curiously. As their ears registered his calling of Robin's name, they glanced nervously at the burning building that had drawn them here.

Batman ignored them.

His eyes were sweeping the buildings, looking for places his primate protégé might use in a pinch. He had learned early on that Robin sought out high, small places when he was hurt or afraid, and if his hideout was warm that was an added bonus.

Spying a likely crevice about six feet off the ground, he moved closer to one of the buildings. "Robin?"

"Batman?"

Batman looked over his shoulder. A young woman dressed in a deep blue officers uniform was approaching him.

He prided himself on knowing most of the officers on the GCPD, but this petite blonde woman with the hombre haircut wasn't one he knew. Much as he hated to, he stopped and turned to face her. She might know something.

The officer stopped in front of him. For the first time, she looked nervous.

"I…I heard you calling. I know the police are officially against you, but I've seen you talk to the commissioner often…I thought you'd like to know, the fire fighters haven't found anyone in the building."

Batman nodded. "Thank you." He motioned to the buildings. "Robin has a tracker, which is broadcasting from somewhere near here. I just have to find him." He stepped up onto a railing, carefully balancing on it as he peered into the crevice he had marked as a likely hiding spot for Robin.

The officer shuffled nervously, then asked "I know you probably don't need it but…do you want any help looking for him?"

Batman looked down at her from his height. He noted the name on her badge.

Officer Haven.

After a long moment, he nodded. "Thank you."

She nodded and began searching at street level. The two worked in companionable silence, she taking the street and alleys, him taking the nooks and crevices of the building fronts and alleyways. He could hear her calling Robin down below.

He didn't know where she had come from, but wherever it was, he was grateful.

Officer Haven peered into a metal garbage can, not really expecting to find the boy wonder curled up in it, but unwilling to bypass any possible hiding place. She put the lid back and moved on.

"Robin?" she called softly.

"…here…" a weak voice answered.

Her eyes widened. She hadn't expected him to answer, as he didn't know her voice, but he _had! _She hurried forward, calling over her shoulder for the Batman as she shoved the bushes lining the front of a brown brick building.

She felt more than heard the Batman land on the pavement. He entered the bushes behind her.

"Robin." He murmured.

Robin gave his mentor as big a smile as he could manage, but it was still a pale version of his usual bright beam. Grimacing in pain, he looked down to where his hands were clamped to his side. He carefully pulled his cape out of the way, gasping as the cool air hit his wound.

Batman stopped him, drawing a small flashlight from his belt and pulling the cape away the rest of the way.

He checked the wound, and was relieved to find that, while painful, the wound was not as serious as it could've been. Robin would heal. Handled right, he wouldn't even have much of a scar!

_**Small favors.**_ He thought grimly. _**But I'll take what I can get. Dick's had some trouble explaining away some of his scars in the locker room.**_ One of the gym teachers had even tried to talk to Dick about them. Was someone abusing him? Maybe Bruce?

Dick had cited life as a circus acrobat as the culprit.

Batman firmly pressed Robin's cape on the wound again, making him gasp. "Keep the pressure on it. You'll be all right." He waited for Robin to nod, then slid his arms under his protégé. He gently cradled him against his chest and stood. "Thank you, Officer Haven." He said calmly.

He turned and carried Robin to the Batmobile.

Officer Haven watched him stride away. She had never seen either the Batman or the Robin before tonight. But they had made more of an impression on her than anyone would have imagined. Despite how powerful and mysterious they were, and how much fear and terror the very sound of their names garnered in Gotham's criminal underworld…they were people to. And they were willing to give their all for this city and its citizens.

She felt shabby and self centered in comparison. _**If a man and his son can be so willing to make a difference, I've got no right to hold anything back when I could give my all.**_

Carefully settling Robin in the passenger seat, Batman gently buckled him in. He climbed into the driver's seat and the black car sped away into the night.

As he drove, Robin filled him in on everything that had happened. Neither let it show but it scared them to think that, if not for a seemingly groundless act of random kindness from the son of the Batman's greatest enemy, Robin could very well have died that night!

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REVIEW! Please and Thank You! Virtual cookies and/or brownies to those who review!

Untill next time...


	8. Mother Knows

Hey guys, sorry this update isn't as long as the last one. I've got school and all, so I don't always get as much writing done as I would like. But I felt guilty about taking so long, so I figured I'd give you guys what I've got. :)

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ENJOY!

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"JJ! Are you all right?" Harley rushed forward, throwing her arms around her son.

He smiled tiredly, giving her a gentle hug."Hello mother."

Harley stepped back, looking her son up and down. He looked very much the worse for wear.

His suit was stained with smoke and smudged with black soot and white ash. There were black smudges on his forehead and across his left cheek, and his gloves were gone. She couldn't be sure, but it looked like the ends of the hair at the nape of his neck had been singed.

"Are you all right?" she asked again.

He sighed and disentangled himself from her hold. "Nothing a shower, a good sleep, and some aloe won't cure." He answered. "Not necessarily in that order. JJ took the bird boy on a ride to hell and back tonight!"

He stepped past her and shuffled to the small room that served as his bedroom. He bumped the door closed behind him with the heel of his wingtip shoe. Awkward as he felt around her, he was glad his mother was home.

Things got dicey when it was just him and pops.

Peeling out of his jacket, he dropped it on the floor and stumbled to his dresser, pulling out some underwear and a pair of pajama pants. Shedding his suit as he went, he shambled tiredly toward a small door off to one side, intensely grateful for the small sardine can of a bathroom on the other side of that door!

A shower would be such a life saver right about now!

The warm, incessant barrage of the water in the shower pounded down on him, and he let it pound. Let it beat at him, hammering away at the scratches, bruises, burns. Let it thrash the living daylights out of the memories and scars until there was nothing left.

He was numb.

He eventually climbed out of the shower, feeling as though in a daze. Grabbing a towel, he avoided looking in the mirror. Avoided seeing the new scars and fresh wounds that decorated his body, reflected there in the glass. Pulling on the pair of loose fitting pajama pants, he shuffled back into his bedroom, towel drying his black green hair.

He stopped.

His suit, which he had left littered across the floor, was gone. Lying on the bed was a first aid kit and a clothe covered tray. He slowly set the towel down on the bedside table and sat down on the bed. Was this a trick?

He stared at the tray and first aid kit for a minute, then slowly pulled the towel off the tray.

Underneath was a bowl of Ramen noodles and two pieces of buttered toast on a plate. It wasn't much, but it was much more than he would have ever dared to expect! Amazingly, both noodles and toast were still steaming hot. And for that he was grateful!

Munching on the toast, he opened the first aid kit and fished out peroxide for the small cuts and aloe for the various burns.

No.

He'd never have expected any of this from Harley, his mother though she was. She had never been a permanent fixture in his life, appearing sporadically in between crime sprees with his father. The past several weeks had been the longest she had stayed.

Dabbing peroxide on a cut along his forearm, he winced. He finished caring for his hurts and set to on the meal. He was ravenous, and it didn't take him long to finish!

Sighing, he set the tray and first aid kit on the night stand, booting the damp towel off on the floor. He'd get it in the morning, before his father could see it and fuss at him for a 'messy' room.

_**As if his own room wasn't a pig sty!**_

He switched off the lights and crawled into bed with a low moan. The shower had worked wonders, but he still ached. He heard the door open, and he forced himself to lay still, breathing deeply.

"Go." A soft voice whispered.

He frowned. What? Throwing caution to the winds, he rolled over and propped himself up on one elbow, ready to fling back the covers and move at a moment's notice. What was going on?

_**Ha! You are so done for.**_ The snide little voice in the back of his head muttered.

_**If I go down, you go down. **_He thought back.

That shut him up.

His eyes now accustomed to the dark, he swept his gaze across the room. He hadn't heard the door shut, but apparently his mystery guest had shut it.

A snuffling sound preceded a large shape climbing up onto the foot of his bed, startling him. He almost yelled out, in surprise, fear, or for help he wasn't sure but he stopped himself.

He knew that shape!

Bud calmly walked up the bed and plunked himself down on JJ's right side, followed closely by his brother Lou, who plopped down on JJ's left.

JJ smiled and lay back down between the two hyenas.

Turning on his side, he threw his arm across Bud and buried his face in the coarse fur of the animals neck and shoulder, taking some comfort from the familiar animal. He felt Lou press up against his back, the heavy, blocky head coming to rest just behind his own, the animal's wet nose buried in his hair.

Lou's warm breath blew across his scalp, making him smile.

He sighed and closed his eyes, pulling the blankets up and nuzzling deeper into the warmth of his bed and the reassuring bulk of the animals. Within minutes, sleep had taken him.

Taken him to a place where nothing could follow…

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Yeah, yeah, I know he's a little weird. But hey! With the Joker and Harley for parents (but more the Joker) you know the kid's gonna be at least a _little_ fricked up!

Review please!

Until next time...


	9. Popping Things Into Place

Hi guys, short update today, but I'm kind of in a hurry. I'm helping my Aunt move into a new house, and on top of everything else due to a mix up at my college I've been summarily dropped from all my courses! Life is crap, as of now! I'll try to give you a longer update sometime tomorrow, promise!

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ENJOY!

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"Aah!"

Alfred held Robin close, wishing there was something he could do to comfort him.

The boy was currently sitting upright on the stainless steel table which served whatever purpose the Batman required, including a medical table. Alfred was holding his upper body in place. He'd been careful to make sure Robin's good arm was pinned between his chest and Alfred's own.

Bruce carefully ran his fingers along Robin's shoulder, gently probing here and there around the joint to make sure he had done the job correctly.

The fall down the stack of crates had dislocated Robin's arm at the shoulder, and had left massive amounts of bruising on the boy's ribs and leg. He'd taken x-rays of Robins ribs and leg and there were no broken bones, much to his and Alfred's relief and Dick's astonishment.

The bruising along Dick's leg was deep seated, well into the muscle, and would take some time to heal. It had actually reached down to the bone in a couple places!

But it would heal. And so would the burns he had sustained. With time, rest, and care, Dick would be back on his feet. And Robin would be back on the streets with Batman. He wouldn't be confined to the cave any longer than was medically necessary, no matter what Bruce or Alfred tried.

Bruce nodded. The ball of the joint was once more seated in the cup of the shoulder. He quickly settled Dick's arm in a sling, using a bandage to bind the boys arm and shoulder in place to dissuade any temptations Dick might have of the acrobatic nature.

"Finished." He said aloud. He gently turned Dick and lifted his legs up onto the table. "Lay back. I'm not done with you yet, just your shoulder."

Dick gasped as his wounds protested. "Terrific." He muttered, allowing Bruce and Alfred to lower him to the table. "Just peachy…aah!"

"Easy." Bruce murmured.

Dick grimaced and nodded. "No kidding."

They quickly removed the rest of Dick's costume, as he had been stripped to the waist so Bruce could get at his shoulder. Once Dick was stripped of his uniform, Bruce picked up a steel canister and removed the lid. A pungent odor filled the air.

"This is going to hurt." Bruce said grimly, handing the canister to Alfred. "But it'll kill the pain, and it'll help you heal."

Dick heaved a sigh and closed his eyes. "Just get it over with."

Bruce nodded and calmly pinned him to the table. Not looking up at Alfred, he said calmly. "You heard him." It took some time to work the ointment well into the burned skin and bruised muscles.

Bruce held him through it all.

Once Alfred had finished, he calmly replaced the lid and put the canister back in the first aid kit. It had torn at Alfred's heart to work that ointment into "Master Richard's" injuries, hearing the boy's cries and gasps of pain, and the only thing that had allowed the aged servant to continue was the fact that this would help his young charge.

A part of him wished that he could exchange places with Master Bruce but he knew that, small though Dick Grayson was, Alfred would never have been able to hold him down.

Bruce gently gathered Dick up in his arms. Normally Dick would have protested being cradled like a child, but tonight he couldn't have cared less. He didn't think he could have made it up all those stairs to his room, and he was dog tired to boot!

Bruce smiled as he gently laid his young ward on the bed. He pulled the thick quilts up over him and gently tucked the boy in.

Dick hadn't even made it up out of the Batcave, falling asleep in Bruce's arms on the way up.

He gently smoothed the hair away from the sleeping boy's forehead. "Sleep well, Richard." He whispered softly.

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Like I said, short update. I will strive to get another chapter up as soon as I can. Who knows, I might even get another one finished tonight. Might. We'll see about that...

Ok, I'm gonna be a stinker and say the more people who review, the sooner I update. I need the feed back guys, and "best story ever", while flattering does not help me improve as a writer. So...

REVIEW PLEASE! Virtual cookies to those who update!

Until next time...


	10. Gems and Gents

Longer chapter today! Sorry for the late update, but you guys know how it is when s*** hits the fan!

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ENJOY!

* * *

JJ followed his father into the upper levels of one of Gotham's elite restaurants.

It had been almost a week since the fire. His cuts and burns from the warehouse were well on their way to being healed. He barely felt a thing.

He winced. Barely.

That new one in the small of his back was something else.

He could hear his mother's light footsteps behind him, followed closely by the click of the hyenas nails on the concrete steps of this back stairway, along with the heavier tread and harsh breathing of a few of his father's "hench-clowns".

The illustrious Bruce Wayne was holding a gala ball tonight, a masquerade if memory served. It was a charity event, to benefit some group of unfortunates or other.

_**Not that you really care.**_ The snide little voice he had come to think of as "miny me" remarked acidly in the back of his mind.

_**And you would know this…? How?**_ He silently answered.

_**Well I am in your mind you know.**_ The vexing little voice answered arrogantly, as if that should have been obvious. _**Or a part of it…**_

He had no answer to that. Nor did he have time to try and formulate one.

They had arrived.

They burst through the door, firing their guns into the air to frighten the masses of garishly garbed socialites and get their complete and undivided attention.

It worked like a charm.

Everyone froze in place. Even the live orchestra playing up on stage stopped, their instruments frozen mid-note. The looks on their faces were actually somewhat comical!

"Now this is what you'd call a _show stopper_, wouldn't you say folks?" his father called.

Bud and Lou cackled as they stalked through the crowd. The people recoiled. Most of the women were crying, ruining their elaborate make up. _**Why do women even wear that?**_ He wondered idly, carelessly waving the pistol in his hand, much to the terror of the crowd in who's general direction it pointed.

It was all too easy to scare people witless wasn't it?

_**And incredibly fun!**_ Miny me snickered silently.

He leered at a young woman dressed like some sort of flower creature, thousands of fake flowers covering her full ball gown from head to toe. Knowing his father's eyes were on him, he sauntered closer to the cowering girl.

She had a large gemstone collar circling her delicate neck, a massive gem encrusted Iris pendant the size of his fist nestled in the hollow of her throat. _**Bleah! How can she wear that? I could think of so many **_**better**_** uses for those gems. That much decadence is disgusting!**_ He thought.

_**Yeah, disgustingly easy.**_ The, by now, much hated voice sniped back. _**Just take it already! It's practically on a silver platter! What are you waiting for?**_

_**An autographed invitation.**_ He thought back sourly, though his mood never touched his face. Instead, he gave her his best impression of the Joker's smile. Pressing his pistol up under her chin, he reached around under the massive head dress brushing her shoulders and undid the catch of the collar.

The jeweled decoration immediately slid down the front of her costume to catch on one of the many flowers decorating her bodice.

"Mind if I take that?" he asked teasingly. She hurriedly shook her head no.

"Didn't think so." He laughed, doing his best to imitate his father's maniacal laugh and pulling it off quite nicely. He retrieved the sparkling choker and slipped it in his pocket.

"There now, that wasn't so hard. Was it?" Again, the frightened girl shook her head. "Easy as tip toeing through the tulips." He teased, walking two fingers across a large fake tulip on her shoulder, making the girl cringe.

"Come 'ere JJ. Daddy's got a job for you." Joker cackled from across the room.

JJ pulled a disappointed face. Chucking the girl under the chin, he chortled. "Keep your petals up." Blowing a mocking kiss to her, he turned and trotted over to his father.

"Yeah pops?" he asked, as he approached.

Joker had grabbed one of several men from the crowd and was holding the taller man at gunpoint. This particular party-goer was dressed to the nines as a toy soldier, complete with a tall plumed hat and handlebar mustache. He even had a fake sword 'bolted' to his belt.

Joker shoved the raven haired socialite toward JJ, who calmly sidestepped the stumbling man and stuck out a foot, leaving him to face plant on the blue-ish gray marble floor.

Joker cackled gleefully. "Our little tin soldier here decided to try and be a hero. We can't have him setting a bad example now can we?" The toy soldier rolled over and froze, a look of terror on his face as he realized that Joker's gun was aimed right at his face. "So we'll just have to teach him a lesson." Joker cackled, cocking the gun.

He paused, then lowered the pistol and motioned to JJ. "On second though... I think it's time you delivered your first punch line kid." He cackled. "Make Daddy proud!"

JJ stepped closer, his own pistol at the ready.

_**Go ahead. Waste the lil' tin man!**_ 'miny me' howled in his mind.

The son of the Joker cocked the pistol. "With pleasure."

He smiled like his father, big and maniacal. _**Practice makes perfect.**_He thought, and lord knew he'd been working on becoming a chip off of the old block!

"If I remember the story right, the toy soldier was missing a leg." He quickly moved the gun and fired, blasting the man just above the right knee.

He stroked his chin, thoughtfully surveying his handiwork. "Then again…" He grabbed the groaning toy soldier by his uniform and hauled him up onto his feet. "The toy soldier was made out of tin, and we all know tin men don't have hearts." He pressed his pistol to the raven haired soldiers breastbone. Slowly cocking the gun, he watched the man's eyes grow wide with terror at the sound.

"Maybe you can get the wizard to give you a new one." He waited all of two seconds, just long enough for comprehension to dawn on the man's face, then pulled the trigger.

The man jerked, his eyes widening in shock. His victim slowly looked down at the hole in his chest, a thin ribbon of blood dribbling down his uniform front.

JJ smirked into the dying man's stunned face."Off you go now." He said gently, turning and shoving the doomed aristocrat into the horrified crowd.

The poor stiff didn't make it more than ten steps before collapsing into the arms of one of the other party goers.

"Ha ha! Ha! Ha! HA!" Joker slung his arm around his son's shoulders. "JJ my boy, I do believe you and I are gonna have a _killer_ of a time! Ha! Ha!"

JJ smirked. "I'm sure we'll have a _blast_." He agreed.

Cackling, Joker turned his attention to his minions. "Boys? Do we have these charitable billionaires bucks?" Two of the henchmen held up large pink and green duffle bags. "Good! And Harley?"

Harley trotted back through the crowd, Bud and Lou right behind her. She tossed a gemstone bracelet into the set of bucket saddle bags Bud was wearing. Lou had a matching set slung across his own sloping back. Both hyenas were well weighed down with the stolen wallets, ladies clutches, pocket watches, and jewelry.

"A-OK Mr. J! We're all set!"

"Excellent!" He waved enthusiastically to the crowd. "Hate to rob and run…!" He turned and made for the exit, his family, pets, and henchmen hot on his heels. "I promise I won't spend it all in one place!"

The instant the door closed, the room erupted in panic. Some called the police. Others rushed to the side of the fallen toy soldier, many calling for a doctor.

An older gentleman hurried forward. "Let me through, I'm a doctor!"

The crowd moved immediately, and those not talking to the police on cell phones fell silent. The doctor gently rolled the toy soldier over, afraid to look, yet knowing that every second was vital if the man somehow still lived.

He stared at the bloody young man on the floor in front of him, at the all too familiar features slightly obscured behind the fake handlebar mustache.

"Oh my god…Bruce…"

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:D...Very wicked aren't I? LOL, does he live? Does he die? What will Dick do? And will JJ ever figure out a way to shut 'miny me' up?...We'll find out next chapter!

Reveiw, and I'll do my best to update all the sooner!

Until next time...


	11. Chatting With Dad

O.M.G...I am so sorry the update took so long! I realized this morning that I've been so busy I haven't even been on _facebook_ more than once in the past week and a half! _That_ is unheard of!

Shout out to blackcat9517, the one and _only_ person to reveiw last chapter. Blackcat, you are now officially my hero!

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ENJOY!

* * *

JJ couldn't believe it. He'd done it! He had _actually_ done it! He had delivered his first "punch line". It had been so much easier than he had thought it would be.

Point.

Aim.

Fire.

Just two simple pulls of the trigger, and it had been over! The deed was done!

He was committed now. There was no going back. He shook his head, staring into his own gray blue eyes in the bathroom mirror.

What had happened to him?

Only two months ago, he'd been a somewhat normal teenager, who never would have dreamed of traveling to the great city of Gotham, much less of doing _half_ the things JJ had done!

But he had.

He _had_ gone to Gotham! He had gone on a crime spree with his parents that had blanketed _entire city_! He had outrun the Batman! He had lured the boy wonder into a trap, and contrary to the plan, had saved his life! He had shot a man!

He had done all of this.

All of this, and so much more...

_**But are you ready to pay the price?**_ He wondered, looking himself in the eye through the mirror. _**Because there's gonna be hell to pay when they found out what you've done.**_

For once, that irritating mini me was silent.

He heard the door to his bedroom open, and he involuntarily braced himself. _**No. Not again. Please…**_

"Oh, JAAYYYJaaayyy?" Joker called tauntingly from the bedroom. "It's time for another one of our father son chats!"

_**Sorry Charley. **_Mini me laughed maliciously.

JJ watched in the mirror, frozen, as his father stepped into the bathroom behind him. A small, detached corner of his mind noted that a cut from a previous 'chat' had healed and was now nothing more than a scar near his eye.

Unless he was mistaken, he would soon have new scars to add to his growing collection.

_**Your pooch is completely and utterly screwed!**_

* * *

"Bruce!"

Dick burst into the hospital room, two security guards hot on his tail. He pushed past one of the nurses and fell to his knees beside Bruce, gripping his guardians hands with wide worried eyes.

"Sorry Doctor Keller. We couldn't keep him out." One of the security guards said grimly.

"Well don't just stand there, get him out of here!" The doctor yelled angrily. "We can't have anyone and everyone just _barging_ in whenever they feel like it!"

The guard who had spoken nodded and stepped forward. Stooping, he looped his arm around the boy's slender waist and picked him up, tucking the struggling boy under one arm. He would have carried the small teen right out of the room, were it not for the other security officer.

"Stop."

He grabbed his partner by the arm and whipped him around. "I said _stop_!" His partner stared at him in surprise.

He gently pulled Dick out of his partners arms, setting him on his feet. "Any fool can see Mr. Wayne's somethin' special t' the boy." He kept his hands on the teens upper arms, looking Dick directly in the eye.

"Now then son, who are you? What's ye name?"

Anxiously stealing a glance at Bruce over the guards shoulder, Dick met the officer's kind brown eyes with his own bright blue. "Richard. Richard Grayson."

The officer smiled and nodded. He _knew_ the boy had looked familiar. He hadn't recognized the young Grayson with the fading bruises and scratches on his face. He vaguely recalled reading in a paper somewhere that Bruce Wayne's ward had been doing some sort of acrobatic routine and had taken a very hard fall earlier that week.

_**The papers weren't lyin'.**_ He thought. The kid looked like he was healing up from quite a knocking!

His mind darted back to the wild chase down the hall after this boy not moments before, and the very pronounced limp the boy had displayed. He marveled at the boy's strength of will. He was very obviously in some amount of pain, as he was favoring that leg even now, yet he had managed to elude and _outrun_ them!

The officer knew and freely admitted that he was no spring chicken, but he wasn't slow, and his rookie partner was a good sixteen years younger!

"And Bruce Wayne's your guardian, isn't he?" the boy nodded again. He looked up at Dr. Keller.

Keller was a pompous fool, but he knew his job. Which was probably why he'd been called in to see to Bruce Wayne in the first place.

Unfortunately, he seemed to be in the mood to exercise his right to air his "pompous fool" opinion. A mood he was in far to often.

"I think it'd be all right t' let the lad stay." The officer tried anyway.

Dr. Keller's face reddened. "You think…! And you're just going to take this _child's_ word that he is who he says he is? How dare you presume to order a doctor! Why, I should..!"

"Keller!"

All turned. The doctor from the masquerade party had entered the room somewhere during all of this hubbub. He was now dressed in the white coat that befitted a doctor, and an absolutely _livid_ look was on his face.

"Keller, I have known for _years_ that you were quite the arrogant, bombastic individual, but I never thought you to be a fool! I've tolerated your lording it over the staff of this hospital long enough, and this is the last straw! Please, do us all a service and limit your speech to medical terms only, or I will see these two gentlemen remove you to my office to await my _displeasure_!" He stormed forward and turned Dick to look at him.

"Are you all right Richard?" He waited for the teen's nod then turned back to Keller. Snatching the clipboard from the now totally cowed Dr. Keller, he calmly flipped the pages, reading his colleague's findings.

Being one of the hospital board members meant that Keller wouldn't _dare_ cross him. It was perfectly within his capabilities to see Keller fired, something he was half tempted to do. If Keller didn't turn over a new leaf in the very near future, he would!

"Incredible." He muttered. He smiled at Dick. "Don't worry Richard. He'll be all right. He should be waking up shortly."A low groan from the bed informed them that he wasn't far off the mark. "Well. Speak of the devil."

"Dick…?" Bruce blinked owlishly, wincing at the pain in his chest and leg.

Dick whooped and threw his arms around his guardian, hurriedly pulling back at Bruce's cry of pain. Bruce didn't let him get far, catching Dick by the arms and crushing the small boy to his chest.

Dick fervently returned the hug. "You scared me." He whispered, unshed tears shining in his eyes.

Bruce smiled. "Scared myself for a minute there." He answered, stroking his wards hair. "I'm all right. I promise." He looked up at the doctor, having heard his earlier comment. "And I'm hardly a devil Adam. Devilishly handsome I've been told on occasion, but hardly a _devil_."

The doctor smiled. "Glad to see you alive and kicking Bruce. You gave us all quite a scare back there at the party." He held up the clipboard. "Quite a unique bullet the Joker's son uses. It seems to create the slightest of surface wounds, just enough to draw blood really, and injects some sort of fast acting sedative. Quite ingenious really, though I don't believe the police have been able to find either bullet."

Bruce looked nervously down at his bandaged chest. "You're sure it's not…?"

"Oh, most certainly not! Dr. Keller saw to your injuries personally, and there was nothing in your wounds. For my part, I'm of the opinion that they were kicked about in the scuffle after the Joker fled."

Bruce nodded. "Thank you. Both of you." He added, including Keller in his thanks. "Dick, you remember Dr. Adam Masters?"

Dick nodded. "Yes. We met at a party I think." Dick smiled, remembering. "It was his grandson's birthday, and I did a tumbling routine for them."

Dr. Masters smiled warmly. "And I don't know how we're going to top that performance next year! Always a pleasure to see you too Richard." He answered. He patted Bruce's shoulder. "Take it easy Bruce. You should be able to go home as soon as someone can come for you. I'll put in a call to Alfred for you."

"Thank you." Bruce called after the two doctors and the security officers.

"You looked dead." Dick said grimly once the door closed behind them, his face still showing the worry.

Bruce's face became serious. "I was supposed to look dead." He answered grimly. He motioned to his clothing, neatly folded and piled on a nearby chair. "Both bullets are in the hilt of the sword."

Dick nodded, quickly moving to retrieve them. He carefully tipped the two normal looking bullets into an empty sandwich bag from his pocket.

He always kept two or three on hand, just in case.

"There's a herd of reporters camped out around the hospital." He said. "Waiting to find out if Bruce Wayne kicked the bucket. And if they can get a picture." He snorted. "One guy actually tried to offer me money to sneak a picture of you for him!"

"It'd almost be better if we _could_ fake me being dead, or at least critical." Bruce answered.

Dick cocked his eyebrow, confused. "What? Why?"

"JJ knew exactly what he was doing when he shot me." Bruce said grimly, his eyes hard. "And when news of my condition gets back to the Joker, JJ's going to pay very dearly for his botched 'punch line'."

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Mwahahahah! I enjoy torturing my characters _way_ to much! But then again it _is_ very therapeutic...

Review please! Virtual cookies to those who press the little blue button down there on the botttom of their screen!

Until next time...


	12. Botched It!

Woot WOOT! Author is happy today, so author shall spread happiness to readers by giving another update!...meh, screw talking about myself in third person, it's not nearly as fun as it sounds. :(

Lol, anyway... Shout out to **_smokeydirtcat, blackcat9517,_**and **TheClownPrincessofCrime**! They all claimed their virtual cookies last chapter by pressing that little blue button at the bottom of the screen! Thank you guys so much, you have made it to the "Authors Note Blurb of Fame" for being such awsome readers!

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ENJOY!

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JJ yelled, clutching his stomach and stumbling back from the hard hit. He smacked against the wall, gasping for the breath that had been knocked from his lungs. It seemed an impossible task, the air just wouldn't come to his starving lungs.

He slowly sank down the wall to rest on the floor.

His outraged father stood above him, livid. A newspaper was clutched in his fist, the words "Wayne Survives: Billionaire spared by trick bullet" printed boldly across the front page.

JJ really wasn't surprised by his father's reaction. Joker had often expressed his displeasure physically, to both Harley and JJ. The sudden harsh kick to his gut had come out of nowhere, but it wasn't a surprise.

"You spoiled it!" Joker yelled at him. He slapped JJ harshly across the face with the paper. "You'll pay for that you little brat!" He slapped JJ again with the paper, hitting the other side of the teens face.

Sick of being a living punching bag, JJ suddenly leaned back and stomped both feet up into his father's stomach, sending him reeling back.

JJ slowly got to his feet. The back of his head was throbbing where it had cracked against the wall, and his elbow was an eerie sort of numb, the kind that he knew from experience would soon resolve itself into horrible blinding pain of the worst kind.

Joker had hauled himself back up onto his feet as well, and was glaring daggers at his son. "How dare you!" He snarled. "I took you in, gave you a place in my empire of crime. How _dare_ you jeopardize my plans! How dare you _defy_ me!"

An icy cold swept through JJ's mind and body in a millisecond. The voice that answered was his, and yet…there was something so very cold and alien in it.

It terrified him.

"And that was why the little shoe was sad…" he answered, not entirely sure where the words came from.

Joker stopped.

Uneasy doubt and confusion were working their way through the back of his mind. He was used to the people around him being afraid of him, and submitting to his demands, taking what he dished out. After all, no one really wanted to cross a madman with a gun, acid, or poison. None of which he was afraid to use. Even the commissioner and his cops were leery of him when they had him in custody, and gave him a wide berth!

The only exception to that rule was the Batman.

But something was off tonight. He stared at his son, trying to put his finger on it. Normally JJ just took what Joker dished out, no muss no fuss, and that was that. He remained silent throughout whatever abuse was administered, and then he slipped away to the hyena's or climbed an old piece of machinery in the back.

It was irritating, Joker thought. He couldn't climb up after the insubordinate youngster, nor was he entirely sure that the hyena's would take it well if he tried to hurt his son in their presence. Both methods were valid defenses, but they were passive, and there really wasn't much he could do to get around them.

Tonight JJ had hit back when his father had chastised him. That was unusual.

The boy hadn't raised a finger against Joker since…

His watery yellow eyes met his son's dark blue gray eyes and it nearly froze his heart. Those eyes were icy cold steel, with no hint of the cool warmth that usually pervaded his features.

This wasn't his son. He didn't know what had just happened, but the teen standing in front of him was someone that the Joker instinctively didn't want to mess with, and that was saying something!

All of this ran through his mind in the space of a few seconds, and was quickly swept away again by his rage over the botched killing of Mr. Wayne.

His son's words came back again. And that was why the little shoe was sad…What?

"What did you say?" he hissed, his voice dangerous.

The iciness suddenly vanished. For a moment, JJ was at a loss. Then the anger kindled. It blazed up into an angry fire to match his father's as memories piled forward, screaming the many injustices wrought at the hands of this man in front of him.

The memory of a scream in the dark, and the scent of blood and sage on the cool night air suddenly brought everything to a head.

He'd had enough! He was sick of being a human punching bag! Sick of spending every waking moment alert, lest he be hit or _worse_! He was_ sick_ of laughter. He was done!

"Because his parents were a pair of _sneakers_." He grinned mockingly at his father. "What's a matter pops? I thought you liked jokes." His hands slowly curled into fists. "Or is it only funny when you're the one telling them?"

Joker gave him a terrifying smile. "Did you hear the one about the serial killer?" he asked, slowly drawing a knife from his belt. "It's a real _cut up_…"

He suddenly lunged at JJ, swinging the knife and aiming for JJ's throat!

JJ scrambled back, eyes wide.

His father wasn't afraid to use a knife, and to use it lethally. He actually enjoyed hurting people, taking a sadistic glee in peoples pain, whether he caused it or not.

More than once he had enjoyed several hours of such amusement at JJ's expense. But despite it all, JJ had never believed that his father would ever attempt to cause him _serious_ injury!

He narrowly avoided the razors edge of the blade, scrambling to get out of the path of Joker's lunge. He didn't dare turn his back on the Joker for an instant, as the madman whipped around and came at him for a second time. He jumped back yet again, tumbling backward with a cry as his heel caught on the rug.

It was that tumble that saved his life!

Joker's knife flashed down, plunging deep into JJ's left thigh!

JJ screamed, trying to scoot back across the floor and realizing he couldn't. Joker still had a hold of the knife, and he was leaning all of his weight on it. If JJ wanted to move, he would have to leave a very sizable chunk of his leg behind!

_**Just be grateful you tripped! **_Mini me exclaimed, actually sounding scared._** You'd be a 'hushed' puppy by now with that skewer in your chest otherwise!**_

_**I'll be grateful later! Right now I'm more worried about pop's corsage! **_He'd leaned back as far as he could, as far as his pinned leg would allow.

Joker was on top of him, his hand reaching for the trick flower in his lapel.

Panic set in, though he fought to control it. Having lived under Jokers roof for some time now, he knew what those flowers were capable of! What he didn't know, was what was in this one. It could be _anything_, from paint to poisons, and acid to Joker venom!

He could be, and probably _was_, in the deepest of trouble.

"You've been a busy little jester." His father hissed. "Take time to smell the roses, JJ!" He squeezed the back of the trick flower, sending a cloud of pale green gas pouring towards JJ's face.

JJ jerked back, trying to hold his breath lest he breathe in the noxious fumes. He was terrified, and struggled vainly to escape his father's hold.

Joker laughed as he pinned JJ's arms to the cement, fully intending on sitting there holding his struggling son to the floor until the gas had done it's ghastly work, when something large and heavy pounded into him from the side! He was bowled head over heels across the floor, sliding to a stop several feet away.

He rolled over with a growl, half expecting to see the cursed Batman standing there protecting his wayward son.

But it wasn't Batman.

The minute Joker's weight was off, JJ had hurriedly scrambled back away from the slowly dissipating cloud of gas. He gasped, sucking in lung full's of air. He'd been about to give in, and the dry, dusty air of the hideout had never seemed so sweet.

His eyes widened and his jaw dropped at the sight of his savior.

Between the two men stood Harley, her favorite giant wooden hammer in her hand. "You filthy _scum sucking_ CREEP!" she yelled at Joker, advancing on him with the hammer. "You lousy, good for nothing, son of a _weasel_! You _hurt_ him!"

"Now Harley," Joker began, getting to his feet. "I can explain!" he ducked and retreated before her furious assault.

"Go on! Try it! I _dare_ you!" she screamed swinging the hammer again and nailing him in the stomach. Standing above her gasping lover, she planted the hammer on the floor and grabbed him by his shirt, dragging him up till he was eye to eye with her.

"I love you Puddin', but you stab my baby again and even _Batman'll _ feel sorry for you! Got it?" Joker nodded and she let him go.

Nonchalantly tossing the hammer over her shoulder, she helped him up off the floor, fussing over him and brushing the dust off his clothes.

Giving him a big kiss and a winning smile, she cart wheeled away as if nothing had happened!

Switching to a handspring on the last turn, Harley landed smoothly on her feet before trotting into the kitchen. She returned a few moments later with a first aid kit in her left arm. A series of one handed cart wheels landed her beside JJ.

"Sit still." She ordered.

He stilled, staring at her in wonder. The henchmen had told him that Harley's anger was a sight to behold, and that when she was well and truly angry, she'd stand up to the Devil himself! But he hadn't believed it!

He had never once seen Harley so much as send a bad look Joker's way, much less said or done anything to defy him. She was Joker's punching bag even more than JJ was!

Yet here she sat, having not only fought her lover for his sake, but having _won_! He couldn't understand it!

Harley quickly removed the knife from his leg, bringing JJ abruptly back to the present with a cry. Murmuring soothingly to him, she poured a large amount of peroxide over the cut and bandaged it. Displaying a surprising strength for one of her size, she then hauled him to his feet and helped him back to his bedroom.

She had him changed into his pajama's and tucked into his bed in no time flat, calling Bud and Lou in to lie on his bed on either side of her son.

While naïve and childlike in many areas, she wasn't stupid. She had noticed that he seemed to feel more comfortable, safer, when the hyena's were near.

Looking at her son curled up in the blankets with the hyenas, Harley smiled. He looked so sweet as he drifted off to sleep, his fingers curled in the warm fur of the hyenas.

Her eyes landed on the bandages wrapped around his thigh, just peeking out from under his pajama shorts, and she frowned. Blood was already seeping through to spot the pure white cloth, and slight misgivings nibbled at the edges of her mind.

Maybe bringing JJ to Gotham hadn't been such a good idea.

Ever the optimist, she shook her head and flipped off the light, closing the door behind her as she left.

Things would work out. They always did. She looked down at the blood stained and torn suit in her arms, and that slight whisper of doubt nipped at her again.

* * *

Joker watched Harley help their son to his room, an irritated glower on his face.

This could be a problem.

He made his way to his desk, settling down thoughtfully in the chair.

How to deal with his reprobate son? Or, to put it more bluntly, how to punish JJ for his defiance without Harley breaking his jaw with her hammer?

A smile slowly returned to his features as he began to scheme.

_**Oh yes. This could work…!**_

* * *

Oh oh! When Joker's schemin' you KNOW somebody's in trouble!

Hey you. Yeah, you! Come here. You see that little blue button down there? Press it. Go on, do it! I dare you! Do it!

LOL, untill next time...


	13. Bag Lady

Hey! Guesswhatguesswhatguesswhat! I'm UPDATING!

Shout out to those who reveiwed last chapter! Namely: Guest, Smokeydirtcat, Blackcat9517, and Katie. You guys are awsome.

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Enjoy!

* * *

Robin laughed, diving effortlessly from one rooftop to another to land in a somersault.

It was good to be out and about again! He did several hand springs across the roof, twisting in mid air on the last one to tuck neatly into another somersault and rolling cleanly over the edge of the wall to land on the rickety fire escape. It clanged, but not as loudly as it had when he'd first landed on it as a rookie.

_That_ had been embarrassing.

He and Batman had been sneaking in to capture the Scare Crow, and that rusty old fire escape gave such a shriek and a clatter that he'd actually gotten enough of a head start to outrun them for three blocks!

He looked up at the slight scrape of a boot on the concrete. Batman was crouched on the building ledge above.

Robin smiled. Dark and somber as the caped crusader was, he knew Batman was happy to have Robin out on patrol again too. The past week and a half had been sheer murder on them both. Robin because he'd been sick and had to _stay_ in bed, Batman because he had to _keep _Robin there!

Indulging in a rare moment of affection, Batman leaned down and ruffled the boy wonders black hair. A small, rare smile played about his lips and he leaped down past the boy, an air of challenge in the way he moved. Robin grinned.

He jumped down to perch on the ledge protruding from the building, landing a few feet away from his mentor, who was perched on one of the large grotesqueries.

"Corner of Fifth and Grand?" he asked, trying to hide his excitement as he cocked a questioning look at his mentor.

Batman nodded. "Sounds good." He agreed. His smile was gone, replaced by the same somber face that was as much a part of the Batman as the cape and cowl. But he couldn't disguise the hint of amusement in his voice from Robin. "Go."

Without anymore warning, the Dark Knight launched himself off the building.

With an annoyed growl, Robin leapt after him. He pushed off hard, catapulting himself across to the next roof. He tucked into a roll, on his feet in seconds and racing after the larger man. They came to the next alleyway and he flung himself across it with wild abandon, completing a twist and flip as he did before landing.

He raced on, laughing and waving cheekily over his shoulder at Batman a few steps behind him.

Several more flying leaps found the two heroes at the corner of Fifth street and Grand boulevard, Robin still in the lead. He came to a stop, perching himself on the head of an exceptionally large statue. He turned.

"I win!" he laughed as the dark knight landed on the ledge.

Batman didn't respond. He was staring down at a lone figure on the streets below them.

The figure was bundled up in several layers of mismatched clothing, making it impossible to determine gender, and was slowly pushing a brimming shopping cart ahead of it.

Batman fired off a grapple and wordlessly swung down into the alley a few feet ahead of the figure, emerging from the dark into the harsh glare of the street light like some monster out of nightmare.

The figure started violently, dancing back several steps before stopping and angrily putting its hands on its hips.

Nowhere near the usual reaction to Batman's sudden appearance, Robin thought as he landed behind the figure to make sure whoever it was didn't bolt.

"I hate it when you do that!" the figure exclaimed in an old but decidedly feminine voice. "I swear, one of these days your gonna step out of the dark like some monstrous fiend and my heart's going to stop. Just flat out stop, and you have my promise that I'll haunt you to the end of your days and beyond!"

Batman placed a hand on the old woman's shoulder. "I'd be honored to have such an implacable guardian looking over my shoulder." He answered. "But Gotham would lose a great woman."

The woman chuckled. "Flattery will get you nowhere." She answered. "But it is nice to know there's still a gentleman or two in Gotham."

Robin had come closer now and could see the old woman's craggy face in the harsh glare of the streetlight.

Her skin was a chocolate brown, dark brown liver spots on her neck and left temple. Deep brown eyes gazed out from beneath hooded lids with bright intelligence, keenly taking in the details of the world around her.

Frizzy silver gray hair peeked out from under a head cloth and a heavy hood, glittering sharply in the red orange glow of the street light, completing the picture.

She puffed and buried her ratty gloved hands in the voluminous pockets of one of her coats. It was getting on toward fall and the nights were beginning to get cold. "Well, what can I do for the Batman and Robin tonight?" she asked, including the teen in the conversation.

"The Joker's son, Joker Junior. What do you know Maggie?" Batman asked without pre-amble.

"Right to the point as always." Maggie observed, smiling. "That's what I like about you Bats. Joker Jr. huh?" she folded her arms thoughtfully, rubbing her chin. "Hmm. I haven't heard anything about him since he trick shot that billionaire Bruce Wayne a couple weeks ago. Word has it Joker was almost beside himself…" She suddenly smiled. "I do seem to recall something about Joker building something in the top floor of an apartment building though. I don't know where."

Batman nodded. "Thank you Maggie. What do I owe you?"

Robin blinked and looked up at his mentor in surprise. He'd never heard the Batman offer to pay for information before, even if it was from someone he knew!

"The usual." Maggie answered, surprising Robin even more with the information that this wasn't the first time. "Though it's Saint Mathews tonight, not Weatons."

Batman nodded. "Done." He turned and disappeared back into the alley, Robin hot on his heels.

As soon as they were on the roofs overlooking the street and its sole occupant, and out of Maggie's hearing, Robin dared to ask. "Batman, who is she? And why are you paying her? You've never offered to pay for information before!"

Batman met his gaze and Robin immediately clammed up.

The dark knight made his way along the roof tops, always keeping Maggie in sight. "Maggie saved my life once." He said after a time. "She's since become one of the best sources of information I have. No one pays attention to a muttering old woman pushing a shopping cart along the street. It's a sight all too common in Gotham." He threw a grapple and swung to the next roof, Robin right behind him.

"In return for her kindness and information," he continued. "I make sure she gets to the homeless shelter she intends to spend the night in, in safety. Maggie's been mugged several times over the years, and it makes her feel better to know someone's keeping an eye on her when dark sets in."

His eyes followed the woman trudging along the sidewalk, whistling cheerfully now with her newfound sense of safety. "Even if it's only for a few blocks."

They arrived at Saint Mathews homeless shelter a few blocks later. Before entering, Maggie paused at the entrance, searching the rooftops.

Batman stepped to the edge of the roof, lifting his hand in a wave. Whether that wave was meant to be a reassurance, proof that he had kept his word, or simply an acknowledgement of her was unclear.

Maggie waved in return, then held up a finger in a classic 'wait' gesture before entering the shelter. Batman frowned. That was unusual. But he had no reason to distrust Maggie.

He would wait.

Maggie did not keep them waiting long. She stepped from the shelter a few minutes later, sans her over stocked shopping cart, and entered the adjoining alley.

"Come." Batman said grimly.

The two hurried to the alley way and leapt down into the depths of the dark. Robin followed his mentor as the dark knight calmly landed behind Maggie and placed a hand on her shoulder.

She jumped violently, putting a hand to her chest in her fright. Upon realizing it was Batman, she wasted no time in slapping his arm. "Don't do that!" She glared at the two of them, then sighed and relented. "I asked a few questions. A friend of mine has a brother who helped Joker build his…whatever it is. It's in the old Garraway apartment building. Top floor."

Batman nodded. "Which room?"

Maggie shook her head. "I don't know. But my friend's brother said it was impossible to miss. He can't figure out how no one's found it yet."

Batman placed his hand on her shoulder again. "Thank you Maggie."

She smiled and covered his hand with her own. "You're more than welcome my friend."

* * *

Robin took a deep breath, following Batman down the hall.

The Garraway apartment building was clear across Gotham in an old run down part of town, commonly known as 'crime alley'.

They'd had no trouble getting into the building. A window on the fourth floor fire escape was open, allowing them access to the hall. From there they had simply walked up the remaining flights of stairs to the eighth floor.

The halls were dark, the uncanny stillness almost deafening.

The other floors had all had some sort of noise to break the stillness! A couple fighting here, a yelling drunk there. A baby crying, the mumble and buzz of a TV or a radio. A loud air conditioner, or the rattle of a fridge door. Here there was nothing.

Just silence, and the excited pounding of his heart.

Ahead, a faint light illuminated the rundown hall. Remembering what Maggie had said about Joker's construction being impossible to miss, the caped crusaders cautiously made their way down the hall toward it.

They were astounded by what they found.

At the end of the hall, the wall of one apartment had been completely removed, replaced by thick panes of glass! They peered into the apartment beyond the glass, dimly illuminated by a wall socket night light plugged into the solid wall on their left.

Curled up on a bed bolted to the wall on the left lay a figure. Wrapped in a blanket as he was, it was hard to tell _who_ it was.

The figure suddenly rolled over restlessly in his sleep and settled again, his face turned towards them.

Their eyes widened. Pale skin and green black hair identified him as JJ.

They had found the son of the Joker!

* * *

Breaking news, next chapter you learn more about JJ's past! Have fun living in suspense till the next update comes out! Evil aren't I?

Fanfiction. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship _Reviewer_. It's mission, to seek out critiques from other writers. To boldly ask for comments from the audience at large.

Until next time...


	14. Dark Eyes

Hey guys!

Shout out to: Blackcat9517, Kinsey Adelaide, and Guest.

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

_JJ stepped off the last stair leading down from the front porch, his tennis shoes making a 'whap' sound against the hard packed earth. He allowed himself to be led to the waiting car. _

_His father had a hold of one arm just above the elbow. His mother had his other arm. _

_No escape._

_He was scared. But he wouldn't give them the satisfaction. Wouldn't give his maniacal father the satisfaction. __He held his head high, his back straight. His steps were strong, his eyes clear, and his face held no sign of emotion. It was taking everything he had to walk toward that car. But he did it. _

_He refused to let his loved ones down. _

_Behind him, the light from the open front door shone down on one of the few people who were truly close to his heart. He didn't look back, but he knew. He had heard the familiar footsteps on the wooden porch. _

_He knew what he would see if he looked back._

_The silver hair that had always been so beautiful in his eyes. A badge of honor for having served so many long years upon this earth, the owner had always said. _

_The strong shoulders held stiff and straight. _

_The tanned, dark face, deeply lined and weather worn with the passing of years spent out of doors. _

_Those deep, dark eyes he had known since the beginning of his memory. _

_Those eyes were the reason he didn't look back. He knew they would be bright with unshed tears, desperately hidden from his parents but all too obvious to him. He knew that if he saw those eyes who had never cried a tear in his lifetime weep for him now…his façade would crumble, and he would be well and truly lost. _

_His mother opened the door of the station wagon and climbed in, turning to pull him in after her. He took a deep breath, lifting a foot to enter. _

_A wild, ululating cry stopped him, and he whirled round with his father to face the one who uttered it. _

_A tan figure raced toward them, long black hair streaming in the wind behind it. Time seemed to slow as he watched that figure run. He had always admired the way this figure ran. So smooth. Graceful. The soft soled shoes pounded the earth, yet made no sound, propelled by powerful legs as they bore the lithe body to its destination._

_The figure raised a hand, a knife clutched in its fist. The knife was aimed for his father. He knew that. But he knew something else as well. He tried to step forward. _

_Tried to intercept the figure before it could reach the madman of Gotham. _

_His father elbowed him in the chest, sending him reeling back into the open the door of the car. His mothers slender arms wrapped around his chest and neck, holding him back for those few crucial seconds. _

_The figure came on, the knife plunged down. _

_Time seemed to slow even further, his limbs mired in molasses as he watched the horrible scene play out before his eyes. _

_His father raised his left arm, catching his attackers wrist on his forearm. In the same movement, his right hand brought out the blade he'd kept concealed at his side, and that JJ had been able to see. _

_Time sped up again, and the knife buried itself in the attackers gut, the cold blade glittering briefly in the night in the blink of an eye._

_Dark eyes shot wide with pain, horror, and shock. His father shoved the mortally wounded figure back with a laugh, retaining his blade. _

_The figure fell with a cry of pain, goading the teen into action. _

_He wrestled himself free from his mother's hold, shoving past his father to fall to his knees at the figure's side. The smell of blood was already heavy in the air, masking and intermingling with the scent of the sage. _

_His fingers raced across the toned stomach, his hand seeking to staunch the flow of blood from the deceptively small wound. Sought to stop the flowing of this brave hearts lifeblood upon the ground._

_His eyes stared into those of this, his dearest of friends as they lay dying in the dirt. The hospital was miles away. His friend was dead. _

_They both knew it. _

_One hand, already pale and trembling with loss of blood, reached up to cup his cheek. The fingers slid farther, hooking around the corner of his jawbone as they sought to hold him there, leaving a smeared handprint in blood upon his cheek._

_The face was wrenched in pain and guilt. _

_They had failed. They had sought to save JJ from his parents. To rescue him from the fate he seemed destined to fulfill. And they had failed. There would be no second try. No rescue. No next time. This was it. _

They had failed.

_He saw all of this as he held his friend, one hand pressed against the wound in an attempt to save them, the other holding theirs because he knew that he couldn't. But his eyes remained locked on theirs. And in them he saw one wish. _

_One plea. _

_**Stay with me.**__ They begged as tears welled and fell. __**Don't leave me here alone.**_

_He knew his own eyes mirrored that desperate plea. __**Stay with me. **__**Don't leave me here alone. **_

_A gloved hand grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and jacket, dragging him off of his friend, dragging him away. He cried out in anguish, struggling to free himself from his father's grip, to return to the side of the one who needed him. To no avail. _

"_Damon!" _

_The scream rent the air. And in that scream was held all the fear, horror, and desperation of this lurid night of pain and hurt._

_He was thrown, still struggling madly into the back of the station wagon, the doors locked behind him. He beat at the door with his fists as angry tears of grief fell from his eyes, unheeded, his self control all but gone. He could see those dark eyes turned toward him. _

_Could still see the despairing plea in their eyes. _

_His mother tried to restrain him as his father started the car, but he shrugged her off, staring desperately back. The figure from the porch had run into the house, and now came back, running to the side of his friend. It comforted him to know that they would not be alone when they died. _

_Both dark faces were turned to watch him as he was taken from them, the tail lights of the receding car casting a garish red glare upon their features, as familiar to him as his own. _

_They disappeared from his view, and he slid down into the seat, crying inconsolably for their loss. He could feel his mother trying to comfort him, could hear the rise and fall of her voice as she whispered softly to him, but he was unable to make out her words. _

_The sobs tore out of his chest in long drawn out cries as he stared down at his hands, unable to comprehend anything save the bloodstained hands resting limply in his lap…_

* * *

"NO!"

JJ bolted upright in bed, eyes wide with terror, sweat drenching his lean frame. His chest was heaving, as though he'd just run a long distance at full tilt.

His gaze fell hesitantly down to his blanket covered lap. Slowly, he pulled his hands out from under the blankets.

They were shaking.

His eyes welled with tears as he gazed at them. In the dim light of the apartment, he thought he could almost see the blood stains on them still.

He bowed his head, covering his face with those trembling hands. The memory was still so fresh in his mind, as if it had only happened yesterday.

This was not the first time those dark eyes had haunted his nightmares...

"Oh _Danae_." He wept. "Forgive me… It's all my fault…"

* * *

I know some of it might not make sense right now, but TRUST ME it will get explained! Feel free to ask anyway though, somethimes you guys ask questions I wouldn't realize needed answering!

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Until next time...


	15. Comedians and Insanity

Woot! Woot! I'm on a roll today! So as soon as I post this chapter I'm gonna turn right around and post the next one!

Shout out to: Blackcat9517, and Katiebug14! And Blackcat, I do beleive you got a new profile picture! Very nice!

* * *

Robin covered his mouth with his hand, trying to stifle a yawn. He and Batman had been up all night, trying to find some way into the apartment.

They had tried everything they could think of from entering through the windows of the apartment, which had been bricked over on the inside and covered with a mirror on the outside to make it look normal, to breaking the glass wall. No luck.

The two heroes had actually_ bounced _off the glass wall!

They had even gone so far as to enter the neighboring apartments, which were empty, and try to cut through the wall. They had been surprised and irritated to find that there was a thick sheet of metal under the insulation. They weren't going to get through the walls without a blow torch.

He stared through the glass into the strange apartment.

All the interior walls had been replaced with the same sheets of thick glass. They hadn't noticed that at first, as it was hard to see the glass in the dim light. It had become readily apparent the next morning however when a very sleepy looking JJ had rolled out of bed and limped toward the kitchen, only to run nose first into the glass wall of his bedroom!

From there, it had been made very obvious that the glass through which they were looking was some sort of two way mirror, as he didn't seem to see them. The apartment must have been soundproofed as well, as they could see he was talking, but they couldn't hear a word of it.

Whether he was talking to himself or whether he was in some way communicating with his parents was unclear.

Robin's eye landed on a black box mounted on the wall at the edge of the glass where it met the solid wall of the next apartment. Was that what he thought it was? He quietly made his way to it and flicked a switch. A red light came on, and JJ's voice spoke softly into the hall.

"Drat it! Where did I set the stupid thing?"

Robin grinned at the Batman as he came from the neighboring apartment to their left. "It's like the interrogation rooms at the police station, just bigger."

Batman's face was grim as he nodded. He silently gazed through the glass at JJ, who was fussing quietly to himself as he limped around the kitchen, apparently trying to make himself several pieces of thick French toast for breakfast.

Robin frowned. The Batman looked worried. "Batman? What's wrong?"

Batman met his eyes. "We've got till noon to get JJ out of there…"

* * *

JJ laughed through his mouthful of toast. He was watching a Comedy Greats Marathon on TV, enjoying the comedic genius of several old black and white stars.

Laurel and Hardy. Red Skelton. Abbott and Costello. Lucile Ball. The three stooges.

He found it interesting that so many worked in groups of two or more. At the moment, he was watching 'Africa Screams', starring Abbott and Costello.

Until he'd come to Gotham, he'd never heard of the comedic duo, though he had since come to like them. His father had been shocked and outraged!

JJ had later learned that the Joker held Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in such high esteem that he had named the hyena's after them, giving each hyena one of the comedians first names.

He missed them, he thought as he laughed at the actors running from the gorilla. He missed the blind loyalty of the hyenas. The fact that they cared for him, seeing him as a member of their 'pack' as it were. He missed the fact that he was never being measured up or judged in their eyes.

And he was never found wanting if they did.

He chuckled. He missed the warmth of their companionship most of all, he thought. After that night when he had come home from the warehouse fire, the hyenas had taken to joining him in his bed every night. Their strong, stocky bodies produced a large amount of heat, and he had soon stopped using blankets.

Their solid presence was comforting, and he slept better with them around.

He grimaced as a stab of pain shot up his leg. _**Truth be told?**_ He thought. _**I miss the animal companionship. I'm going to go stir crazy if I have to stay here alone in this box of mirrors much longer!**_

Mini me snickered. _**What's wrong with being crazy?**_ He asked. _**It's done wonders for your parents! And besides, what do you mean going? You're already crazy, otherwise I wouldn't exist. You just insist that it's not true and fight me and everything you are every step of the way, and frankly it's getting kind of annoying 'sport.'**_

He pressed his hand to his leg, tracing the raised ridges of the bandages underneath his loose fitting pajama pants with his fingertips. He gasped.

Even so light a touch as _that_ woke the pain that slept fitfully there.

He slowly climbed from the chair, not bothering to put the footrest down. His injured leg buckled the instant he set his weight on it, drawing a cry of pain from his lips. JJ dropped the syrup and butter covered plate and silverware, his hands reaching out to catch himself, and missing.

He stayed where he fell on the floor for several long minutes, gasping in pain as he pressed his hands to the bandaged wound. He shivered, the cool air making goose bumps rise on his bare torso. Tears slipped from his eyes, as he waited for the pain to ease. He knew by now that it would not go away.

The pain hadn't gone away in days.

JJ grit his teeth, forcing himself to his feet and gathering the dishes he'd dropped. He couldn't sit there all day crying like a child, no matter how much his wound pained him.

* * *

"Batman, look!"

Robin pressed his hands against the glass, face pale. Batman came to the glass wall, his eyes following Robin's pointing finger.

JJ had gotten up out of the recliner, and had fallen almost immediately with a pained scream. He stayed on the floor with his hands pressed against his thigh. It was with a start that Robin realized JJ was crying.

The son of the Joker was _actually_ crying!

"Keep me informed." Batman said grimly. He turned and went back the way he had come. "I need to go back to the Bat cave for some tools. Stay safe and out of sight. If anyone comes, hide." He leveled a stern look at his protégé. "Do _not _engage."

Robin sighed. "I won't. I promise. But if they take him out of here, I'm putting a tracker on them."

Batman was silent. After a moment he nodded. He knew he could ask no more of the young teen. He turned again and quietly made his way back down the hall to the window and out. He lowered himself on a grappling line to the ground and ran down the alley to the waiting Batmobile.

He didn't like leaving Robin here alone, but he needed someone to watch JJ. If JJ were to leave, or was taken away, they would lose their only clue to Joker's whereabouts. And he needed those tools!

He had to have JJ out of that room by noon, or the boy would _die!_

He angrily gripped the steering wheel, the leather creaking in protest. Joker had done the unthinkable. He had plotted to kill his son! Caged him in a death trap from which he could not escape!

Joker had set a _bomb_!

No matter what the boy had done, he didn't deserve to die like this. Not at the hands of his own father, blown sky high in a blazing fireball.

JJ would answer for his crimes. Batman would see to that. But he would answer to the courts of Gotham, and the law. Batman _would not_ let him die!

* * *

Yay! Now I'm off to post the next chapter!

Until next time...


	16. Sing Along With The Radio

Hi guys! There's no shout outs this time since I'm uploading this one mere minutes after the last one! But I'll get everybody next chapter, dead poets honor! Yes I have been watching The Dead Poets Society. Carpe Diem!

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ENJOY!

* * *

JJ was panting, his breath ragged and uneven.

He'd made it to the sink, and now leaned most of his weight against it to keep it off his leg. It hurt worse than ever now. He started the water in the sink and shoved the stack of metal camping dishes into it.

He'd not done any the day before and now had a sizeable pile sitting there in the mounting suds.

He looked up at the window above the sink, or at least where it used to be. All that was there now was a window sized square of bricks. He knew without counting that there was an even forty-two. He'd counted them often enough.

He knew every chip and pockmark in those blasted bricks!

His eyes roved to the right, landing on the radio his mother had left him. He'd used it often enough, preferring music over the mindless blather of the TV. But seeing as how he'd been locked up here for weeks there really wasn't much else to do, and he'd found himself turning the TV on more and more out of boredom as the days crawled by at a snail's pace.

He shut off the water and reached across the counter to flick on the old black radio. Listening to the monotonous voice of the weatherman, he began scrubbing the dishes in the sink.

The music would come on soon enough.

He liked this station. Relatively few commercials, and it had a very eclectic range of music. One minute it would be playing a pop song, and in another it would be playing an old folk song. Rock followed by Christian, oldies followed by country.

It even played a little jazz!

The weather man went away, and the host came on. JJ paused as the announcer said the name of the upcoming song and listed the artist. He knew this song.

He buried his hands in the soapy water, shaking his head.

The piano music began to play, and his walls of reserve broke. Tears slipped down his cheeks as he washed the dishes. The piano hit the cue, and the singers voice came on the air. He didn't know he had opened his mouth to sing until he heard his own voice joining hers.

* * *

"_How can you see into my eyes like open doors?"_

Robin's eyes snapped up from what he'd been doing. It took him a moment to realize the voice was JJ's and his eyes zeroed in on the black box mounted on the wall.

"_Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb"_

The boy wonder moved closer to the glass, staring at the older teen standing by the sink. He had stopped washing the dishes and was simply standing there, his hands submerged in the soapy water almost all the way up to his elbows. His head was tilted back, his eyes closed. He was crying again, but these weren't tears of pain.

_**At least not physical pain.**_ Robin thought grimly.

"_Without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold,"_ JJ continued.

He was a good singer, Robin thought as he listened. Steady, without any tremors or hesitation. The clear, warm tenor voice was strong as he blended with the singers, the ease of long practice clearly evident.

This was the kind of voice Robin knew the choir director at his school would absolutely _love _to discover. The boy wonder snorted at the thought of a voice like that showing up in the Gotham Academy choir room. _**Fat chance!**_

"_Until you find it there and lead it back…home…"_

JJ bowed his head, apparently overcome and unable to continue. He stood there for a minute, leaning heavily against the sink as the songs chorus continued to spill from the radio.

Then he began washing the dishes again.

He didn't join the singer again until she reached the line, _"Breathe into me and make me real. Bring me to life." _

His voice was still strong, though quieter, and it trembled and broke with emotion here and there throughout the remainder of the song.

_**What is it about this song?**_ Robin wondered.

He settled himself cross legged in front of the glass, pondering. What the heck was going on, period? He couldn't understand what possible reason the Joker could have for putting JJ into a deadly prison with no way in or out. What possible motive could Joker have had to apparently try to kill his son? And what was with the glass apartment?

Joker was eccentric, but this was weird even for him!

He groaned and let his head fall to rest against the glass. He couldn't make heads or tails of this. He didn't think he would until he got more information, or until he and Batman got a chance to interrogate Harley or JJ.

JJ's voice suddenly cutting out told him that his forehead might have smacked the glass a little harder than he had intended. He looked up.

Gone was all trace of grief or vulnerability as the son of the Joker stood stiff and straight beside the sink. He had turned halfway to stare at the glass wall, his hands still buried in the soapy water. The dark gray blue eyes were icy cold as they gazed toward the glass wall that concealed Robin.

After a long moment, one hand rose from the suds and turned off the running water.

* * *

JJ turned off the cool water he'd been using to rinse the dishes, never taking his eyes off the mirrored glass that made up the inner wall of the apartment. He grabbed the dish towel off the sink, slowly drying his hands and arms and dropping it back on the counter.

Then he turned.

He knew the glass was a two way mirror. _Had_ known it since his second day in this prison. His father paid him a visit every other day or so, though he was by no means punctual.

He always tapped on the glass to let JJ know he was there.

JJ really didn't want to talk with the man right now. But if he didn't at least acknowledge his father's presence, he knew that he would be in deep trouble. In his present condition, he knew he wouldn't last long.

But he wouldn't give his father the satisfaction.

He slowly walked toward the glass, back straight and head held high and proud as he moved. It was taking every ounce of will power he had to walk to that glass wall without a wince or a limp, keeping his face cool and detached. He couldn't give his father the satisfaction of knowing that he was still hurting two weeks later. He wouldn't.

He owed his dear ones that much.

JJ stopped in front of the glass. There was a small chance that it was his mother on the other side of the mirror, but it was very slim. She'd only come to see him two or three times the entire duration of his stay.

But he still had to ask…

* * *

Just to be clear, I do not own the group Evanessence or their song _Bring Me To Life._ If I did I would probably be a rich woman.

See that little blue button at the bottom of your screen? Push it! It makes me a happy writer, and happy writers update more!

Until next time...


	17. Things That Go 'Thump' in the Mirror

"HEY YOU GUYS!" lol, always wanted an excuse to yell that in public!...Maybe one day I'll come up with one. This one's kinda short, but don't worry! Chapter 18 is sleighted to be up somtime tomorrow. Probably around noon, since my class gets out around then.

Shout outs to: Blackcat9517, and Guest to the third power! You guys are awsome! To those of you lurkers who didn't know, I do allow anonymous reviews, that's who 'Guest' is up there. So you have no excuse not to give me your two cents!

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ENJOY!

* * *

"I'm still here." JJ said, staring at the mirror in front of his nose.

Robin moved the two feet to stand in front of the older teen. JJ's eyes were focused on a spot above Robin's head, at about the height of an adults eyes.

"I know it's probably you pops," JJ said, his voice flat and emotionless. "but all the same, one for you, two for Ma."

_**He thinks I'm Joker or Harley.**_ Robin realized. He debated for a long minute about what to do. _**Batman told me to lay low. But…**_ He starred at the older teen.

He had told Batman about JJ saving him, and JJ's trick bullets had saved Bruce's life. _**There's something about him. Something we're not getting**_.

The memory of JJ's icy blue gray eyes warming for a moment as he patted the boy wonders shoulder and held Robin's cape to his wound came to his mind. Then he lifted his hand to the glass.

_**I'm so busted for this.**_

* * *

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

JJ kept the frown off his face with a supreme case of will. _**Three knocks? What on earth…? **_

He cocked his head, keeping his face blank and expressionless. The pale face starring back at him from the mirror looked like a dark eyed, antique china doll, the kind with bone white skin.

_**Or a mask.**_ He thought. _**The kind with absolutely no expression, no mouth, and usually white as a sheet. A neutral mask.**_He had learned early on that this 'mask' infuriated his father.

So he used it often.

"Do you mean that both of you are here?" he asked aloud. "Once for yes, twice no." He waited impatiently for the answer, wondering what sort of game his father was playing.

_Thump. Thump. _

"Then what's going on? Why'd you knock three times?" He asked, then shook his head as he remembered that he had to stick to questions with 'yes' and 'no' answers. "Is this pops?"

_Thump. Thump._

"Ma?"

_Thump. Thump._

_**Then who?**_ He wondered grimly. "An enemy?"

_Thump. Thump._

"A friend?" He asked. He highly doubted it was really a friend, but it wouldn't surprise him if the unknown on the other side of the mirror answered yes. He wasn't disappointed.

_Thump._ The unknown 'friend' answered.

"If you're a friend, get me out of here." He answered grimly.

_Thump. _

He raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

_Thump. _

_**Ok. Now I've really got to know who it is.**_He thought. _**But how to find out?**_ He opened his mouth to ask a question when another thought struck him. He looked over his shoulder at the clock hanging on the wall.

_**No. I can't do this.**_

_**What? What are you doing?**_ Mini me screamed._** It's your father on the other side, don't waste you breathe! Even if it isn't him, let it alone! It's none of your affair!**_

JJ sighed. _**Maybe.**_ he answered softly. _**Maybe…**_

* * *

Robin waited patiently on his side of the glass for JJ to decide how to respond.

The blank, enigmatic face JJ was wearing was impressive, with just enough of a smile touching the corners of his mouth to make you wonder what he was thinking, what sort of mischief was in the making.

_**It's almost as good as Batman's.**_ He thought grimly. _**And I'd hate to play poker with either of them!**_ He saw JJ open his mouth and hurriedly brought his focus back to the present.

JJ drew breath to speak then stopped. He looked back at a clock, and his carefully maintained blank look slipped ever so slightly. Behind it, JJ looked so…lost.

It was almost beyond description. His shoulders drooped, in defeat or despair, and his head lowered.

He looked back at the glass, and the mask was suddenly shattered. His back snapped straight and a grim look of determination hardened his features. His eyes gave off a steely glint, and his lip curled in disdain.

"My father will hate this. And I don't really care. If you're really a friend, you need to get out of here." Some of the sadness crept back into his eyes and he looked away as he uttered the next sentence. "My father intends to kill me."

He gestured helplessly at the wall to his right. "He's set a bomb in the next apartment, right up against the wall. He told me so himself. There's even a small window set in my wall, so I can look through and see it." He looked at the mirror again, his eyes focused on a spot a little closer to Robin's eye level.

"I'm not afraid to die. In a way I've kind of been asking for it. It's eleven thirty now, and the bomb goes off at noon. If you're really a friend, then you need to get out of here before that bomb goes."

He paused for a second, biting his lip. "…Pops said that this room's on top of an apartment building. He said that the apartment underneath this one has kids living in it…"

His eyes became pleading. "I've got more blood on my hands than a heart surgeon, and the thought of those kids down there has been the only thorn in my side these past two weeks. If you could get them out of there, I'd be grateful."

Robin stared up at those blue gray eyes, a little too bright as they fought the tears that threatened to fall.

He wasn't afraid to die.

It was those he left behind that worried him.

Robin reached up and thumped his fist against the glass.

"Thank you." JJ murmured. He sighed. "We'd better get going. You've got people to evacuate, and I've got dishes to do." A small, genuine smile crossed his face. "After all, I wouldn't want to leave a bunch of dirty dishes for the firemen to deal with."

Robin thumped his fist against the mirror once more, before turning and stalking down the hall. "I'll get the people out." He said grimly, even though he knew JJ couldn't hear him.

"But then I'm coming back to get _you_ out of here."

* * *

Woot! Woot! Robin to the rescue!...But how will he get in?...(cue dramatic music and anouncer voice) Will Robin be able to get all the people out in time? Will he be able to set JJ free? And will JJ be able to get the dishes done in time?!...Tune in next time, same time, same station!

Review!

Until next time...


	18. The Batmobile Lost a Wheel

I know, I know, I said around noon, but class ran late today what with the test on the chapter being tomorrow! Anyway, back to seeing if JJ finishes the dishes before his mind gets blown...along with the rest of him...heheheh, I'm evil, and I enjoy it!

Shout out to: Blackcat9517, TheClownPrincessOfCrime, and Guest! As always, you guys rock! One cannot begin to find the words to describe exactly how much you rock!

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ENJOY!

* * *

Batman grit his teeth, and glanced at the clock on the Batmobile's dash board. Nearly noon! He grabbed the jack out of the car and hurried round to the back.

Of all the times to get a flat!

Muttering a few choice words that would have highly offended Alfred's sense of decorum , he turned on his com link. "Robin."

"_Robin here. Go ahead Batman."_ Robin's voice answered after a moment.

Batman frowned, his protégé sounded winded. "What have you been up to?" he asked suspiciously. "You sound out of breath."

Robin gave a tired laugh from the other end of the com. "_I should hope so."_ He answered. "_I just evacuated the whole apartment building! Did you know those people in the apartment under JJ had kids?" _

"Is everyone out?"

"_Almost."_

"As soon as everyone's out, get out of there." He growled. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"_Yes sir. Robin signing out."_

Batman nodded grimly and went back to changing the tire. _**I'm coming Robin. Changing this tire's going to set a few new NASCAR pit stop records!**_

* * *

Robin turned off his com and raced back up the stairs to the eighth floor and it's deadly contents. He hurried into the apartment adjacent to JJ's and looked the bomb over again.

He had to hand it to Joker, he knew how to build a bomb.

He could see several bricks of C4, or something very similar, stacked against the wall at the back. The entire bomb was encased in some sort of plexi-glass casing, preventing any attempt at defusing the bomb. In the center of the bomb was a led light screen counting down to noon.

Below it was the bombs trigger.

Robin had never seen a mercury switch before, but he was sure he would've recognized it even if Batman hadn't been there to tell him that's what it was. It was to distinctive to be mistaken!

It was a wide flat dish with several exposed wires ringing the edge of it. In the middle of the dish sat a reflective, silvery blob about the size of a quarter. That was the mercury.

As soon as those little red numbers all turned to zero the mechanism underneath the dish would shift, tilting it so that the mercury would slide over and hit some of the exposed wires. The mercury shorted out the wires, the shorted wires triggered the bomb.

Boom.

End of discussion.

Robin shook his head. He was intelligent, no one could argue that. But he wasn't anywhere close to the bomb expert that Batman was. If Batman couldn't come up with a way to get into that box and defuse it, no way was the boy wonder going to manage it in under ten minutes!

He hurried back into the hall and starred through the glass at JJ.

The young clown had finished washing and drying the dishes and had just stowed them all away in the cupboards. He turned and slowly limped towards his bed.

Robin's eyes widened. _**The bomb. Oh God, he's putting himself right next to the bomb!**_ He frantically pounded on the glass.

"Come on JJ." He growled. "Come on, get away from that bomb!"

* * *

JJ sighed lowering himself down onto his bed. It was nearly over. Unless that clock on the wall was off, he only had a few more minutes left.

A sudden pounding on the glass made his head snap up. He could actually see the mirror shaking! Oh lord, his unknown friend hadn't left! He scrambled up off the bed, panic stricken.

His leg chose that moment to give out, sending him tumbling headlong to the floor.

Wide, frightened eyes darted to the clock. _**T-minus five minutes to the blow! He needs to get out of here!**_ He scrambled to his feet again, hurriedly limping onward to the mirrored wall.

_**Who cares?**_ Mini me screamed, scared witless. _**Who cares if the little creep gets creamed? We're about to become a series of bloody Rorschach's on the wall, and you're worried about some mystery guest behind mirror number one!...And what makes you say your "friend's" a "he" anyway?**_

JJ grit his teeth, pressing his palm against the mirror. _**Ok, seriously? If that bomb doesn't blow you out of my mind I'm going to take a shotgun to you first chance I get! Now shut up, and get off my brain stem! **_

"What are you doing here? The bomb's going off in less than five minutes! You need to get out of here now!" He said aloud, starring at the mirror at what he hoped was his unknown benefactors eye level.

_Thump. Thump. _

"There's nothing you can do for me! Get out of here before we both go up like a couple of party poppers!"

* * *

_Thump. Thump._

Robin lowered his fist. He was wracking his brain for a way to try and get JJ to move farther away from the bomb. He checked his watch. Three minutes, fifty seconds to go.

He was running out of time.

JJ's face suddenly became hopeful. "Did you get them out?" He asked softly.

Robin stepped to the side and thumped his hand once against the glass about a foot to JJ's left. _**Come on JJ, follow the knocking…**_

JJ turned his head toward the sound but didn't move. "All of them?"

_Thump._ Robin tried again, scooting a little bit farther away.

A relieved smile washed across JJ's face. "Thank God."

Robin glanced at his watch again. He'd synced it to the bomb's countdown earlier before he'd gone downstairs to evacuate the building, so there could be no mistake about how close they were to the big 'kaboom'.

Two minutes.

The boy wonder gave a last ditch attempt and simply hammered on the glass, darting down the hall away from the bomb and smacking the glass as he ran. He reached the end and stopped his barrage, racing back to a very confused JJ and thumping once on the glass in front of the clown's nose.

_**Please let this work…!**_

* * *

JJ starred at the mirror, watching it shake and shudder as whoever it was on the other side raced away, pounding on it as they ran. They reached the end and the thumping stopped. A few seconds later the mirrored surface right in front of his nose shuddered as they thumped on it again.

_**What the…?**_

_**You idiot! Can't you see what they're saying? They're telling you to get away from the bomb! Move as far away as the room will allow! Run for it!**_

_**Shut up. **_JJ growled.

He glanced back at the clock. He didn't think he would survive, but if his unknown friend ran to the stairs _he_ might make it. It was worth a shot.

"You want me to move away from the bomb?"

_Thump._

"If I move away from the bomb, will you get out of here?"

_Thump. _

"Deal. Now move!" He turned and hobbled toward the far back corner of the mirrored apartment. The bomb was set against the wall more towards the front, so technically that was as far as he could go. He glanced at the clock again.

_**Less than sixty seconds left on the clock! I hope he made like a banana and split!**_

* * *

Batman raced up the last few steps like a bat out of hell.

He had arrived only a few minutes ago and had been horrified to learn from the officers outside that Robin hadn't come out! He'd apparently emptied the last apartment of its occupants, telling them to run for their lives and get out of the building before the bomb went off before racing back up the stairs as fast as he could run.

Batman had cursed under his breath as he realized he had ordered the boy to his death!

_As soon as everyone's out, get out of there, _ he had said! It hadn't occurred to the dark knight that Robin would count JJ amongst that 'everyone'!

"Robin!"

He burst out of the stairwell and into the hall, eyes searching frantically for his protégé from behind the white lenses of his cowl. Relief flooded him as they settled on the young teen, standing at the other end of the hall by the window.

Robin turned to face him, surprised to see him there but happy nonetheless. He opened his mouth to say something.

That's when Batman's whole world went up in flames!

* * *

Mwahahahaha! DUN! Dun! dun! Suspense, gotta love it...or not...

LOL, guys, PLEASE review! Even if it's something as simple as a little smiley face, I would love to here from you guys, gals, and whatever other gender may be out there!

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	19. Be Careful

I am ending the suspense caused by my evil cliff hanger! Be happy!

Shout outs to: Smokeydirtcat, Blackcat9517, Kinsey Adelaide, and Guest. You guys and galls are of the type of awsomeness that cannot be described with words!

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Robin gasped, coughing as he inhaled the acrid smoke.

He grimaced and pushed himself up onto his hands and knees, craning his neck to look for Batman, and JJ! Batman looked ok. He'd been slammed against a wall at the other end of the hall, and it looked like he was unconscious, but he was outside the range of the fire for now.

The son of the Joker was another matter however.

He had also been thrown against a wall, and he wasn't moving. A lot of debris from the blast had landed on him, more than heavy enough to pin him to the floor.

Robin stood.

The blast had torn out several large chunks of flooring, most of them in the area of JJ's bed, though one exceptionally long hole was situated between Robin and the clown. It was well over ten feet wide.

There were a few narrow sections of flooring closer to the wall that reached clear across, but Robin highly doubted they'd hold even his slender weight.

"A grappling hook then?" He pulled a grapple from his belt and fired it, lodging the grapple in the ceiling.

It looked secure but as his years as a circus acrobat, and then as a crime fighter had taught him, you always test your wire. He gripped the wire and leaned back hard, putting all his weight on it.

For the space of a heartbeat, the line held.

The grapple suddenly tore loose in a shower of broken bricks and crumbling mortar, leaving Robin to stumble and land on his backside. He grumbled and got to his feet, reeling in the grappling hook and line.

"Good thing Batman wasn't awake to see _that_!" He muttered, laughing despite the direness or the situation.

_**Come on Robin, think!**_

His eye landed on a solid, heavy beam on the other side. Before all this, the metal I-beam had been one of several to help support the ceiling. The explosion had torn the beam straight out of the ceiling, leaving one end buried in the floor, the other still attached to the ceiling.

_**That could work…**_ The boy wonder grimly fired the grapple again. But this time he was aiming much lower. The grappling hook whipped around the beam several times before securing itself. Robin tugged on it, making sure it would stay this time.

It held.

_**Now what?**_

His eyes raked the wall behind him, desperately searching. They lit on the door of an apartment. He hurriedly jerked it open and darted inside. A smile lit his face when he saw the couch sitting in the living room, just beyond the door to the entranceway.

Somehow the slender teen managed to push the couch till it sat across the doorway that connected the living room to the small entrance hall. Once there, he tore the cushions off and secured his wire to the inner framework, leaving about a foot and a half of slack in the line.

Darting out again, he closed the door behind him, taking up the slack in the line as he shoved it down to fit under the door.

The taught line made a twanging sound as he plucked it, and he straightened to eye his handiwork.

It was the only way, he knew that. "But that doesn't mean I have to like it!"

The boy wonder stepped up onto his improvised tight wire, and began walking.

* * *

Batman groaned and opened his eyes.

Smoke burned his eyes and choked his lungs, and for the first few moments he wasn't aware of much of anything. Then memory of what had happened came back to him in an icy wash.

_**The bomb! **_

_**ROBIN!**_

The dark knight stumbled to his feet, desperate to find his ward. He'd almost lost Robin to a bomb once, he wasn't going to do this again! He couldn't!

He raced down the hall, dodging the burning wreckage and leaping through the smoke, desperately searching for the twelve year old he'd come to think of as his son.

There! Robin was walking a makeshift tight rope across a hole in the floor.

He put on an extra burst of speed. Robin wasn't using the tight rope to get out of danger. He was using it to get _in_!

"Robin!"

The teen paused and twisted halfway around on the wire, looking back in surprise and relief at his mentor. "Batman! You're all right!"

"I'm fine Robin, but what are you doing?" Batman called back. Robin merely pointed in answer. Batman followed the boys finger, and he understood.

He could see JJ laying there in the corner, pinned under the burning rubble. He couldn't tell if the boy was alive or not, and unless JJ had made a move before he had arrived he doubted Robin knew either.

But they had to know. They couldn't just leave JJ there, couldn't assume he was already dead, and run the risk of leaving him to burn to death.

"Be careful." He said grimly.

Robin nodded and turned back to face the burning apartment, and slowly began walking again. "I will."

* * *

Robin stepped off the wire and hurriedly picked his way across the flaming carpet and what he imagined to be _tons _of broken glass.

He could see JJ's burned and bloody form underneath the wreckage, and it scared him to think that he might already be too late.

He knelt beside the teen, shucking one of his gloves and slipping his bare hand underneath the flaming debris to press his fingers against the clowns neck.

_**Please…please… **_

A weak but steady pulse greeted the boy wonders questing fingers, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Pulling his hand out, he quickly retrieved his glove and began pushing and pulling the smoldering rubbish off of the older teen, trying to keep it off JJ's skin as much as possible.

Not that JJ's bare torso wasn't burnt enough as it was!

Robin grimaced. If his own experiences were anything to go by, JJ was going to be hurting for some time!

_**Better to be hurting than dead…!**_

* * *

Hope y'all liked it!

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Until next time!


	20. Walking On Air

Don't look now guys, but...I'M UPDATING!

Shout outs to: Blackcat9517! The one and only person to demonstrate their niceness and leave a starving writer a review to chew on! Thus, I am leaving out virtual cookies for you as a thankyou gift! To the rest of you, I have only one word to say...SLACKERS!

That being said...

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* * *

JJ groaned. He hurt. By the stars, he hurt!

He opened his eyes, only to find several small tongues of flame a mere foot from his face! He tried to move, to get away from the fire, only to discover that he couldn't move more than a few inches in any direction.

He was pinned!

Something, or several something's, were on top of him holding him down. The weight was to much for him to lift by himself. And the heat! He could feel it all along his back and lower legs, and it brought tears to his eyes as it burned deeper and deeper into his skin.

He was going to die. He was being slowly burned to death.

_**What about my friend? The one on the other side of the mirror?**_ Panic set in. He began thrashing, desperate to get himself out from under the wreckage and look for him.

A sooty, gloved hand suddenly came down through the smoke and cupped his cheek. A gentle, silent request for him to look up.

He complied.

His bleary eyes could just make out the pale, soot be-smudged features and dark domino mask, all topped off by a mop of coal black hair. He coughed, staring up at the boy wonder in shock.

"Robin?"

Robin grinned and went back to hauling the mess off of him. "The one and only!" He heaved a larger piece off the older boy. "If you could help push, we can get out of here a whole lot quicker! Something I would highly advise!"

JJ nodded, pulling his arms closer to his chest and pushing as hard as he could. "I ahh!..I tend to agree." He panted, gritting his teeth as the burning wood bit into his back. "Hot one in the old ahh!...old town tonight, huh?"

Robin coughed out a laugh. "I'll say!"

It took several minutes, but at last JJ shoved himself up onto his hands and knees, the last of the burning debris falling from his shoulders. Robin caught his arm and pulled it across his shoulders, helping the injured clown to his feet and supporting as much of JJ's weight as he could.

JJ grimaced as he gazed around at the burning apartment. "Well…this looks strangely familiar. "

Robin chuckled and nodded. "Yep."

JJ eyed the narrow sections of flooring. "Um, did you have a plan for getting out of here? 'Cause I _really_ don't think those 're going to hold my weight. I don't even know how they held yours!"

"They didn't. I made my own road." Robin pointed out the cable. "Come on, there's no knowing when this floor'll give."

"What is that, a zip line?" JJ stopped. His eyes widened as Robin stepped up onto the wire, and he realized what the boy wonder was asking him to do. "Uh, Rob?...I'm an ok tumbler an' all but…tight rope walking is _way_ out of my skill set!"

Robin nodded grimly. "I know, but it's the only way." He could already see the older teen shaking his head, preparing to object, and he tightened his grip on the boy. "JJ."

JJ paused, his mouth still open to speak. But he listened.

"Listen, I know it's a long way to fall if you lose your balance, I was shaking like a leaf the first time I was put on a high wire. And I was just a kid!"

"You're _still_ a kid!"

"Not the point! If we stay here we're _both_ going to die." He saw JJ opening his mouth again and quickly cut him off. "And I'm not leaving you behind! You can forget that idea, it's not how the hero business works…I know you don't have a reason to, but you're going to have to trust me… Ok?"

JJ chewed his lip nervously, then nodded. "Tell me what to do."

"Can you walk on your own?"

JJ shook his head. "Not for long."

Robin nodded. "Ok, plan B then." He hurriedly dug a grapple out of his belt and tied one end around the beam at about waist height, then turned his attention to the dark, brooding figure waiting implacably on the other side.

"Batman! Catch!"

JJ watched in silence as the Batman caught the line and looped it around a door handle several times before bracing himself against it, pulling it taut.

_**Oh sweet pickled pineapple, we are so gonna die!**_ Mini yelled.

JJ looked back at the burning apartment. _**If you've got a better idea, I'd sure love to hear it.**_ He answered silently.

Robin was speaking to him now and he gave the boy his full attention, pushing his annoying voice in his head to the back of his mind.

"Ok, here's what you do. You want to line your foot up with the rope, just put one foot right in front of the other. Don't look down. Pick a spot on the other side and just keep your eyes on that until you step down off the wire."

He nodded toward the second line in front of them. "That's your check line. You hold onto that with your free hand to keep your balance, but don't lean on it, the goal is to keep most of your weight on the tight wire."

JJ cocked his head. "My free hand? And what's the other hand going to be doing, if you don't mind my asking?"

Robin resettled his grip on JJ's right wrist, the one slung across his shoulder, and tightened it meaningfully. "I'm your other check line. Like I said before, try not to lean too heavily, it's just to keep your balance."

JJ stared at the boy wonder in amazement. How could the boy so brave? How could he take such a chance?

_**Oh goody. At least if we go down, we'll take the brat boy with us!**_

JJ carefully climbed up onto the wire after the boy wonder, gripping the wire with his left hand.

_**Remember what I said earlier about a shotgun? It still goes. Now shut your trap door.**_ He tightened his right arm around Robin's shoulders.

Robin glanced back at him, concerned. "You gonna be ok?"

JJ took a deep breath. "Walking on air." He shook his head. "Who'd of thought?...All right, let's do this."

Robin smiled and started moving. "Just remember, one step at a time."

_**We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die!**_ Mini me chanted relentlessly.

_**Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up!**_ JJ chanted back.

To himself he added, _**Don't look down. Keep moving, one foot in front of the other. You can do it, left foot, right foot, repeat. Don't look down…And for God's sake don't lean on Robin!**_

* * *

Batman watched anxiously as the two boys slowly made their way across the improvised tight rope. He could feel the cord he was holding tightening and going slack as the son of the Joker wobbled on the tight rope.

If this were just Robin walking the line, he wouldn't be half as scared for his protégé as he was right now.

If the larger boy should fall, Batman knew that Robin could catch hold of the line, save himself. But he also knew that Robin wouldn't, and that was what scared him. If JJ fell, Robin would try to save him, and would likely get himself hurt or killed in the process.

Batman grimaced. The fire had spread, the heat rising. The sweat was pouring off of him in sheets.

He tightened his grip on the rope. Mere seconds later he felt the rope give a sudden yank, jerking Batman's arms forward. He braced himself back, his eyes snapping back to the boys.

JJ had lost his balance and was leaning heavily on the rope, his blue gray eyes were wide with terror, his pale face now ashen white. But he wasn't clinging to Robin, Batman noticed with interest. JJ had actually loosened his hold on the twelve year old and was leaning more heavily on the cord!

_**Careful Robin. I swear, if you allow that kid to pull you off that wire, you are going to help Alfred clean the mansion for a week!**_

He leaned back harder, slowly taking in the slack and lifting JJ back upright on the wire. He could see Robin talking to the boy, but he couldn't hear what the boy was saying. JJ gulped, still shaken, and nodded.

The two teens slowly began walking again.

They finally reached his side of the tight rope, and Batman had to restrain himself from letting go of the rope until both boys were standing safely on the floor.

"How badly is he hurt?" he asked grimly.

"He's got some cuts and bruises, and his back's burned up, plus that leg wound we noticed earlier. He's hurting, but I think he'll live if we make it out of here." Robin answered.

"This way." Batman growled.

He led them down the hall and threw open the window at the end. Quickly pulling two grapples from his belt, he anchored both of them in the wall above the window and climbed up to crouch on the sill, passing one of the lines to Robin.

The two heroes lifted the son of the Joker up onto the sill and Batman wrapped an arm around the teen's waist. He scooted over as far as he could. "Out you go Robin." He ordered. "The Batmobile's waiting."

Robin nodded.

Batman was using his "you-argue-you-get-skinned-alive" tone of voice. There would be no winning. He smiled and patted JJ's shoulder encouragingly.

If he thought walking the tight rope was bad, just wait until he saw what Batman had in mind!

* * *

JJ watched the boy wonder, curious.

There was a mischievous set to the younger boy's mouth, and if he could have seen Robin's eyes he could almost guarantee that there would be an impish glint in his eyes.

"Robin?"

The boy wonder laughed and launched himself forward, diving headfirst out of the narrow opening between JJ and the wall. JJ whipped his head around, watching as the young acrobat arched gracefully through the air outside. He turned several somersaults before the slack in the rope had been taken up and swung him lightly back to the wall.

It was with a start that he realized his mouth was hanging open. He hurriedly shut it, his teeth clicking together. He looked up at Batman. "Are we…?"

Batman nodded. "Not that flamboyantly." He leaned forward. "Hold on."

Before JJ could even comprehend what was about to happen, Batman had already catapulted the two of them out of the window.

_**See? I told you! I told you we were gonna die!**_

JJ was too busy screaming to either agree or tell Mini me to shut up!

Having seen footage of the Joker being captured by Batman on the internet and TV, he really wasn't worried about preserving any image. His father always yelled and hollered, and his mother wasn't much better.

_**But I've got my own dignity to maintain.**_

He quieted, starring wide eyed at the swiftly approaching ground. He felt the Batman's arm tighten around his waist and grimaced. It was pressing into the burns and God knew what other injuries covered his bare back.

Batman glanced at him, but didn't slacken his hold. On later thought, JJ realized he would've been exceptionally worried if the Batman had.

There was a sudden jerk as the line went taught, then the bat released the line and they landed lightly on the pavement no more than five feet away from Robin and the Batmobile.

Robin was crouched on the hood of the car, grinning like a maniac.

JJ winced. _**Bad choice of words there.**_

Batman finally eased his hold, allowing the young clown to stand on his own power.

Robin jumped down off the Batmobile and trotted up to them, his infectious grin still in place. " JJ! Did you enjoy the ride?" he asked.

JJ smiled. "Once you get over the absolute terror, not that bad! I can see why you two seem to enjoy it so much!" His smile grew when Robin burst into laughter.

If the Batman was the night, the very darkness itself personified, then Robin was the light in that darkness. If Batman was the night, then Robin was the moon and stars.

_**Waxing poetical are we?...So what happens now?**_ Mini me hissed.

JJ's smile faded. It was a valid question. "What happens now?" he echoed softly.

"Get in the car." The dark night answered gruffly.

JJ nodded. "K." He hadn't taken more than a couple of steps before his unreliable leg gave out and he stumbled. Both heroes were quick to catch him, and he was surprised by their gentleness. He gave them an embarrassed smile. "A little help?"

The two heroes nodded, silently helping him to the car.

Without a word of request or warning, the dark night suddenly scooped the teen up in his arms, carefully setting him in the passenger seat.

"Gas him." He growled grimly to Robin before stalking away. "I'll call the commissioner."

JJ cocked an eyebrow at the bird. "Gas him?"

Robin shrugged. "I guess we're taking you back to the cave." He answered. He pulled a small square of cloth from a compartment on his belt, leaning over the side of the car to get at JJ. "Just take a few deep breathes. You'll wake up in about an hour or so."

JJ looked doubtfully from the cloth to Robin and back. Then he nodded.

The teen smiled and held the sickly sweet smelling cloth to JJ's nose and mouth, cupping the back of the clowns head with his free hand.

_**Just take a few deep breathes…right.**_

His lids were already becoming heavy, darkness encroaching on the edges of his vision. Robin was still leaning over him, watching him.

But, for some reason, he didn't mind falling asleep under Robin's watch.

Odd that he should trust his so called enemy more than his own parents. _**Funny old world we live in…isn't it?**_

Mini me grumbled quietly in the back of his mind as he faded away into unconsciousness.

_**I don't see anything funny about this…**_

* * *

Yes! I have spared JJ!...for the moment...we shall see if that lasts...

Review please! I enabled the anonymous reviews so the shy readers could give their input without fear! So lets have a better turnout than last time! That was hurtfull!

Until next time...


	21. Burns and Bandages

On with the show!

Shout outs to: Blackcat9517, Crow13, Kinsey Adelaide, and Guest! You guys are my favorite people on the planet right now!

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ENJOY!

* * *

"You know, we really need to get at least one backseat in the Batmobile. This is kind of ridiculous." Robin chuckled.

Batman didn't answer, instead merely climbing into the driver's seat. Robin shifted uncomfortably. They had reclined the passenger seat as far as it would go, and he was now stretched out on his side between the unconscious JJ and the door.

Granted JJ was tall and leanly muscled, and Robin was small for his age, but these seats just weren't designed to hold two!

He pulled the blanket more tightly around JJ's torso. Some of the burns on the older boys back had looked serious. It was completely possible for JJ to drop down into shock! So they were trying to keep him warm as they rushed him back to the cave. It was Robin's job to keep track of JJ's condition. He gently pressed his fingers against JJ's throat.

Still going strong.

"How much farther?" He asked.

Batman gave him a look. He could almost picture his mentors eyebrow arching up behind the cowl. "We are here." He answered.

Robin raised his head to look out the window, just in time to see the Batmobile dart through the hidden opening in the cliff face, slow, and neatly come to a stop inside the Batcave.

"Oh." He flushed. "Sorry."

Batman nodded, climbing out of the car and coming around to the passenger side. Robin was already out of the car and out of his mentors way.

The Dark Knight carefully lifted the young clown up out of the car, cradling him against his chest as he turned on his heel and carried him towards the medical area.

Robin trotted along at his side, his face plainly worried.

The blanket had fallen away from JJ's shoulders a little, giving Robin an unobstructed view. The skin was red, blistered, actually blackened in one spot! Robin shivered. That black wasn't good.

Black and white skin signified that it was a third degree burn. Due to JJ's unnaturally pale skin the white wouldn't show, but it also made sure that the red and black showed up in full, lurid detail.

Batman carefully laid the boy down on the table, pulling the blanket the rest of the way off. He gently turned JJ over so that he was laying on his stomach, allowing Batman to get at the burns.

Robin starred at those burns.

There were black third degree burns in at least two other spots on JJ's back, and he wasn't even sure of how badly his lower legs had been burned as they were covered by his ruined pajama pants.

Having suffered mostly first and second degree burns in the warehouse fire, Robin could empathize with the pain JJ would most likely feel when he awoke. At least the third degree burns didn't mean it would hurt more.

The nerve endings would've all been burned away.

"Robin. Go get Alfred. Let him know we have a guest. I'm going to need his help." Batman said grimly. He had pulled a hose from a pump nearby. It was used to bring water up from a spring in a lower part of the caves for lab tests. He turned it on, carefully playing it across the burns to cool them. "Go."

Robin turned and darted away, taking the steps up into the mansion two at a time.

* * *

Batman growled softly as he rinsed the ash and soot away from the burns on JJ's back. Joker had definitely sunk to a new low. Harming adults was bad enough, now he had moved on to children.

And he didn't just mean fifteen year old JJ.

From what Robin had told him on the way back to the Batcave, Joker was fully aware of the fact that there were small children living directly underneath his bomb. He'd gloated over the fact!

"You'll pay for this Joker…"

* * *

JJ grimaced and opened his eyes.

It felt as though his whole body had been blown sky high….Oh wait. He _had_.

He was laying on his stomach, a heart monitor clipped to his finger on one hand, and an I.V. inserted into the back of his other hand.

He craned his neck, looking back along his body. _**All four limbs intact…?Check.**_

_**Held captive in the cave of the bat? Check, you idiot!**_ Mini me spat furiously.

_**Annoying little voice my head? Check. **_He heaved a sigh, letting his head rest against the pillow. _**I was so **_**hoping**_** you'd make it through this little trauma. I don't suppose you'd know anything useful, like how badly I'm banged up?**_

_**Not a chance.**_

_**I thought you might say something like that.**_ He sighed again, closing his eyes. "What is the point to your existence?" he asked aloud.

Mini me made no reply, and he couldn't have been more grateful for that.

The near silent sound of boot steps on the pavement made him open his eyes again and look towards the sound. The other side of his stone cell had a wall of bars looking out on darkness, probably the rest of the cave.

He gritted his teeth.

It reminded him of the glass prison he had spent the past two weeks trapped in. He was trapped, and anyone and their mothers could look in at him. Like a goldfish in a bowl. At least this time he could see them too!

Well, he wasn't going to meet them lying down!

He pressed his arms into the mattress, levering himself up and onto his side. A gasp of pain tore from his lips as his body chose to notify him of every single injury he had.

The shadows on the other side of the bars seemed to writhe and quickly morphed into the intimidating shape of the Dark Knight. He paused for a moment, studying the newly awakened teen. Then he calmly shucked his glove and pressed his hand to a panel mounted on the wall by the door. The lock clicked open and he ghosted into the cell, closing it behind him.

He had a pretty good idea where he was, but JJ thought it a good idea to check. "Where am I?" he asked, shifting nervously as the Batman approached.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise as the Batman set a tray of medical equipment on a rock outcrop beside the bed.

"You're in the Batcave. Lie down." Batman answered.

JJ obediently lay down on his stomach again. He felt fingers carefully remove the large gauze pads covering his back, held in place by medical tape, and he hissed as the cool air of the cave slapped against his burns.

Batman paused, eyeing him speculatively before returning to his task, though his hands became more gentle.

JJ bit his lip, determined not to cry. He remained silent through the rest of the treatment, breathing a small sigh of relief when some sort of soothing gel was applied to the burns and they were covered again with gauze pads.

Then the Dark Knight moved to his legs.

JJ turned his head, wanting to see, and just barely managing it. Both legs had been bandaged from knee to ankle, and his right leg had bandages wrapped around the thigh as well. He bit his lip, a question on the tip of his tongue, but unsure whether he was allowed to ask it.

He decided to risk it. "Why am I here?" he asked quietly. "I thought all your villains ended up in Arkham."

Batman didn't look up from his work. "I don't send kids to Arkham." He answered. He finished with JJ's left calf and re-bandaged it, moving on to the right.

"How burned up am I?" JJ asked.

"Three third degree burns on your back." Batman answered, not pausing in the slightest. "The rest are first and second degree burns."

"Which bite, by the way."

They looked up at the sound of that voice. Robin was standing outside the bars. Just like Batman had, the boy wonder shucked his glove and pressed his bare hand to the palm lock. It clicked open and he darted inside, pulling the door closed behind him.

Sporting an infectious grin, he came to stand behind his mentor, a bundle of grey cloth under his arm.

"Here's the stuff you asked for." He waited a moment for the Batman to answer. When no response was forthcoming, he turned his grin on the clown, not the slightest bit perturbed.

"Hey JJ. Feeling better now?"

"Now that I'm not being toasted like a smore at a camp out? Yes, much." JJ grinned. He nibbled his lip after a moment and looked away. He was afraid of the answer to his next question. "And my leg?" he asked softly.

Batman finished with JJ's right calf and re-bandaged it. He pushed on JJ's hip, silently asking the teen to roll onto his side. JJ obliged.

He was hurt and this was the Batman, what was he going to tell him, no?

Upon rolling over onto his side, JJ discovered that his right pants leg had been sliced down the front from his hip all the way down to the hem. He watched as the dark knight flipped the cut pieces of cloth to the side exposing the white bandages underneath.

"The infection was serious." Batman said, unwrapping the bandages on the teens thigh. "I had to bring in a doctor from Gotham to have a look at it." The bat met his eyes. "She said if you hadn't worked so hard to keep it clean, she wouldn't have been able to save the leg. You will have to work hard to strengthen the leg again, but it _will_ heal."

JJ heaved a sigh of relief. That had been his chief concern if he survived the bombing. "I knew the infection was bad. I tried to keep it clean, but after the peroxide ran out I had to make do with what I had."

Batman finished checking the wound and re-wrapped it. "What happened?" He said grimly.

JJ didn't need to ask what it was Batman was talking about.

He sighed, propping himself up on an elbow. "My father saw the headline. To say he was angry is the world's biggest understatement. Pops was boiling over like a tea kettle left on the stove to long!" his face hardened. "I didn't help matters. I made a comment or two that, while justified, probably shouldn't have been made. He pulled a knife, and I caught it with my thigh."

He chuckled coldly. "He would've killed me then and there, but my mother interfered. She patched me up. The next day, Pops sent her on an errand. I woke up in that glass apartment the day after that. Pops explained the situation to me before he sealed me in."

"Basically I was too soft. I'd been with him for how long and hadn't delivered a single 'punch line', as he called it. The billionaire thing was the last straw. He never wanted a kid anyway. So I had to be punished."

JJ shifted, as though to roll over on his back, then thought better of it and tried for a more comfortable position on his side. "His other methods of punishment having not made any noticeable dent in my behavior, Pops couldn't keep me on, the failure son that didn't do as he was told. And he couldn't send me home. Either way word would get out that the Joker couldn't control and or discipline his son. And he couldn't just out and out kill me, because mother would kill _him!_ So he had to be a bit more subtle about it."

JJ shrugged. "He told Ma that he was putting me in solitary until I learned to behave myself. When the bomb blew, he'd tell her it was a freak accident, maybe faulty wiring. I'd be out of his hair and he could go back to the good old days when Ma considered a pair of hyenas children."

He fell silent for a moment, then looked up at the Dark Knight. "Whatever you do with me, please don't let my father find out. If he finds out I survived, he might go back home and kill my grandma!"

* * *

Robin starred at JJ. "Wait, Joker actually has family aside from Harley?" He shook his head. "I didn't know anyone would still lay claim to that psycho!"

JJ glared at Robin. "No one does." He answered. "Mamaw is my great grandma on my mother's side." his face softened as he spoke about the elderly woman. "Mother would stop in whenever she could, and sometimes she'd drag father home with her, but Mamaw was the one who raised me."

"Where does she live." Batman asked grimly.

"Out on the Apache reservation in Arizona." JJ answered. "She has a house near Nazlini. Her name is Leosanni Cliffrunner."

Batman nodded and rose. "Help him." He ordered Robin, and quietly left the cell, slipping his bare hand through the bars to touch the palm pad and unlock the door.

"Yes sir." Robin answered. The two boys watched the Dark Knight disappear into the depths of the dark cave.

JJ cocked his head curiously. "Help me with what?"

Robin laughed and held up the bundle of grey cloth. "Change of clothes!" He answered. "Your PJ's kind of took a beating back at the apartment."

JJ chuckled. "Here to I see." He answered, holding up the sliced leg of his pants. "Not that it matters, they were pretty much totaled anyway." He winced as Robin helped pull him up into a sitting position.

Once Robin had him upright, he put the grey bundle in the young clowns hands. He watched as the older boy carefully unfolded the clothes.

"Love the color scheme." JJ teased. He held up a pair of loose fitting sweat pants. He looked at them for a minute then shrugged. " 's as good a place to start as any."

In the end, Robin cut the tattered pajama pants the rest of the way off, rather than make JJ stand.

Getting the sweats _on_ him was easier said than done. Not because JJ was being difficult, but because of the pain of his burns.

"I'm glad you didn't pick skinny jeans!" JJ muttered as he lay down on his side again.

Robin snorted. "Give me some credit!" He caught hold of JJ's arm before he could fully lay down. "Hey, don't lay down just yet. We're not finished here."

JJ made a face. "Right. The shirt. Much as I would love to put one on in this ice box of a cave, somehow I think that's going to go even worse than the pants did. I'll just bundle up in the blankets, thanks."

"Oh ye of little faith." Robin muttered, shaking his head dramatically.

He unfolded the shirt, to reveal two things. First, it was a great deal bigger than it should have been. It would have easily reached JJ's knees.

Second, it wasn't a shirt. It was a large, soft poncho.

"Burns take a lot of looking after," Robin explained. "And since you'd have to take your shirt off every time we checked them, I figured it'd be easier on everyone if we just put you in one of these. This way we can just flip it out of the way, you won't even have to sit up."

JJ smiled and pulled the poncho over his head, huddling into the warm fabric. "Thank you."

* * *

My goal is to have the next chapter up by tommorrow!...I see you shaking your head over there! Just you wait! I'll do it!

REVIEW PLEASE! Thank you.

Until next time...


	22. Explanations

Ok, so I was totally going to post yesterday, I even had it all typed up! Then I hit a snag. Said snag being that A) November 3rd is my birthday B) I forgot C) My family had lots of surprises planned! So no, I did not post. I was in Chicago all day!

Shout out's to: Blackcat9517, and Guest! The only two to post for the last chapter! You two I am thoroughly impressed with! Virtual cookies to you!

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ENJOY!

* * *

"Soup's on!"

JJ looked up, and smiled.

Robin entered the cell, a tray balanced in his free hand as he swung the door closed. JJ sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting upright on the edge to avoid aggravating the healing wounds.

Robin handed him the tray, and he sniffed appreciatively. A bowl of home made soup and a pair of thick grilled cheese sandwiches were settled on the tray, and they smelled incredible!

JJ shot the boy wonder a grateful smile.

If meal schedules were anything to go by, he estimated that he had been here almost a week. And despite the fact that he was a captive and in pain, he felt safer here and now than he had in a very long time.

During his second day there, Batman had informed him that he had contacted JJ's grandmother.

The elderly matron had emphatically informed him that she was going nowhere. If the Joker wanted to off her just let him try! She'd show him what she thought of people who tried to murder _her_ grandson!

She had however promised to be careful, and told him that she had good watchdogs. _No one_ approached her property without forewarning.

"JJ?"

The young clown looked up from his musings. Robin was still standing in front of him, and he appeared uncomfortable.

JJ put down the sandwich he'd been working on and gave the boy wonder his undivided attention.

"Back at the apartment when you asked me to get those kids out, you said a couple things that just didn't make sense to me." JJ cocked his head, and Robin continued. "You said that you had more blood on your hands than a heart surgeon, and you said you'd been asking for death. I've looked through your file JJ, and so far as I can tell, you never killed anyone. You gave a couple people some killer wedgies, but so far you haven't _seriously_ hurt anybody."

JJ sighed. "So far as you can tell…" he bowed his head. "I've done _nothing_, and that is how I have killed. I could have stood up to father and mother. I could have left. The least I could've done was call the police, even if the call was anonymous! There was so _much_ I could've done. And I didn't. Every kill my father made is just as much on _my_ hands as it is his."

Robin sighed and sat on the bed beside the clown. "JJ…It's not your fault. I mean, how many kids have a pair of murdering psychos for parents?"

JJ chuckled a little at that. "Not many." He agreed. His smile faded. "Mother dragged father home for my fifteenth birthday. Father never really showed much interest in me, but that night he just up an announced out of the blue that I was going to be coming back _here_ to Gotham with them! They were going to make me a 'regular giggle off of the old guffaw', as he put it. We would leave the next night."

He shook his head. "I could've run. I could've stood up to them. Something! _Anything! _Instead I just did what I was told. And I made the biggest mistake of my life."

He gritted his teeth. "I slipped out of the house early that morning. Went to say goodbye to my friends. I was an idiot."

"One was out on a hunting trip with his dad. But the other was home…I told her everything. She tried to convince me to run away, hide, call the police. Anything. I wouldn't listen. I couldn't leave Mamaw to Pops. There was no guarantee that Mother would protect her. I _had_ to leave with them."

Tears welled in the young clowns eyes, and he suddenly seemed to find the floor between his bare feet incredibly interesting. "She came that night. She was trying to protect me. And Pops _gutted_ her right there in the yard! I couldn't save her!"

Robin put a hand on his shoulder, his face sympathetic. JJ shot him a grateful, but watery look.

He wiped irritably at his eyes and continued. "They brought me here to Gotham. And I became the son of the Joker. I couldn't risk Mamaw's safety, so any act of rebellion was passive. It _had_ to be."

The older teen shuddered. "Pops used to come into my room on nights when Ma wasn't there. Father/son chats he called it…You know, I had maybe three or four scars when I came to Gotham, and those mostly on my hands. Now?…Now they're everywhere… And I can't even begin to count them."

He looked up at the boy wonder, biting his lip. _**Screw it!**_ He thought grimly, he'd told this much. _**In for a penny, in for a pound**_. "And you know the worst part?"

Robin shook his head. "No."

"All the shocks, the cuts, the lack of sleep, the drugs…I think Pops was finally able to drive me mad! Or at least halfway! Ever since that night we escaped the fire in the warehouse…I've literally been hearing voices in my head!"

Robin starred at him. "You're joking!"

"I wish I was!" JJ answered earnestly. "You know those cartoon's where the character has an angel on one shoulder, and a devil on the other? It's kind of like that, just it's in my head...and there's no angel."

"Wow…" Robin shook his head, stunned. "What kind of things does it say?" he asked curiously.

"Um…" JJ frowned. _**Got anything to say to the Robin?**_ He thought at Mini me.

_**Oh have I?...**_ Mini me answered in a dark voice. _**Well here's what I think of your little birdie friend...!**_

JJ's eyes grew wide as he listened to the voices angry tirade. "…yeah, _no_! I am _so_ not repeating that!"

Robin frowned, confused. "What?...oh!" he grinned. "Right, you said it was like having your shoulder devil in your head. I take it he didn't have anything nice to say?"

JJ shook his head. "He's still going actually." He admitted, flushed with embarrassment.

Robin burst into laughter. "Long winded little sucker isn't he?"

_**I heard that brat boy!**_ Mini me yelled.

"You have no idea!" JJ answered aloud, grinning.

* * *

LOL, no Blackcat9517, I actually did have this written before you commented on the last chapter. But I couldn't help but laugh when I read it, your comment was _SO_ appropo!

REVIEW! Lots of comments makes for a healthy writer!

Until next time...


	23. Judged

So I'm officially taking the jump off the deep end and going insane. I'm goining to try to write and post multiple stories at a time. Hopefully I don't start posting 'seeds of evil' chapters in my 'conner's christmas' story, or something equally hairbrained. "Conner's Christmas" is a Young Justice fanfic, in case any of you are interested. So if I post something that all of a sudden mentions Aqualad or something, you'll know what the heck's going on! LOL.

Shout out to: Blackcat9517, Kinsey Adelaide, teenagejustice, Smokeydirtcat, and Rosemarygreeneyes!

And 'Smokey' they keep telling me you're not supposed to hear voices in your head, but...yeah. The voices may not be real, but mine always have great ideas! XD

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ENJOY!

* * *

"Relax JJ! No way is the Joker gonna find out you're here!" Robin soothed.

His words fell on deaf ears however. The young clown continued his pacing, hobbling back and forth in the small side room.

It had been almost a month since the dynamic duo had rescued him from the glass apartment. Most of his burns had healed, though he was still sensitive here and there. His leg was still weak and slightly tender, but it could now bear his weight.

He was quite happy to be off the crutches!

The two boys were currently hidden in a small side room in the courthouse of Gotham, awaiting their chance to get in to see the judge.

Batman would come for them when the coast was clear.

The court house would be almost completely empty today during lunch break, and that was what they were waiting for. The less people in the building, the less likely it would be for someone to spot JJ and tell his father where he was!

The judge they were going to see was Judge Harman, a friend of commissioner Gordon. The situation, including the danger to JJ's (nameless) grandmother, had been explained to Harman in full. He had also been made aware of the risk to himself for overseeing this case if the Joker ever found out.

He had agreed to see them anyway.

JJ sighed and shook his head. "Sorry Robin, I just… I don't know…" He gestured helplessly with both hands, the bat cuffs he wore making it impossible to use just one.

The boy wonder smiled sympathetically. "Yeah. I know…"

Both boys whirled at the sound of the door opening. Batman quietly slipped into the room. He eyed the two boys for a moment, then motioned them forward.

"Come."

The dark knight quietly led them down the hall and up a flight of stairs. From there it was down two more halls and through a door into the judges private office.

Judge Harman was waiting for them.

JJ wasn't sure what he had been expecting, maybe a tall, stern, hawk nosed man with angry eyes. Whatever he'd been thinking, JJ was pleasantly surprised to discover that this short, rotund man with the jovial face was nothing like what he'd been expecting.

But there was a shrewdness to the judges face as well, a keenness and intelligence in the eyes that was both scary and reassuring.

Judge Harman eyed JJ curiously.

JJ was hardly what he had been expecting either. He had seen the grainy photos from security footage in the newspaper. But the JJ in those pictures was a completely different person from the respectful teen standing in front of him now in a pair of batcuffs.

Having dealt with the loud and obnoxious Joker, this quiet well behaved clown was actually refreshing!

In the photo, JJ had been at the Wayne charity event, doing his best impression of his father's laugh. He had been dressed in his brilliant purple suit.

The bright lights made his pale white skin seem even whiter, shining off of the gold highlights in his green black hair. Despite the wide grin on his luridly colored lips, his eyes were icy cold, emotionless. And he'd had a gun in his hand.

The teen standing in front of him now was different, though his odd coloring remained.

He was dressed in grey sweats, a white T-shirt and a grey poncho, a pair of slip on tennis shoes on his feet. His green black hair was longer now, and he was beginning to look shaggy. His lips were still red, his skin still pale white. But his eyes were warm.

His face wasn't the expressionless mask anymore.

"Your honor." The Batman said simply. He waited a moment until he had the judge's attention. "Thank you for seeing us."

The judge smiled and nodded. "Not a problem." He answered. He moved behind his desk and motioned to the chairs sitting in front of it. "Please, have a seat."

* * *

JJ settled himself in front of the judge, watching nervously while the man pulled a manila folder from a drawer and laid it open on his desk.

He fidgeted, trying to be patient while the man looked over the folder's contents.

Glancing out of the corner of his eye, ne noted that neither the Batman or Robin seemed in the least bit concerned or uncomfortable.

_**How can they be so calm?**_ He wondered curiously, twiddling his thumbs for lack of something better to do.

_**Oh gee, I wonder..? Maybe 'cause their not the one's on trial? Hello! This guy is a bat sympathizer! They have NOTHING to fear!**_ Mini me yelled. He still hadn't forgiven JJ for getting caught, and it had only made him angrier when JJ had refused to even _attempt_ an escape.

JJ blinked, and he stopped fidgeting. _**Neither do I.**_ he silently answered. _**Whatever happens to me, Batman has promised that Mamaw will be safe. And for me that is all that matters. Let the rest come.**_

He straitened his back and settled in to wait, finding some reassurance in that thought.

Just let his mind drift...

He'd always been trying to live up to something. His grandma's expectations, the opinion of his friends. In an odd way, he'd been trying to live up to his parents. But that was wrong. He'd known it then, and he knew it now. And he determined to do something about it. He wouldn't let who his parents were rule his life.

He _would_ be better than they were.

The judge finally looked up. "So, in essence: you are the biological son of the criminals Joker and Harleen Quinzel. You were brought here against your will and forced to go on this crime spree to protect your grandma? Is that correct?"

"In part." JJ met the judges eyes. "I obeyed my parents, because I didn't have the guts or anger to stand up to them. Not until it was my own skin that needed saving. I have no noble purpose."

Judge Harman arched an eyebrow.

He flipped a page in his file, and gestured to the information on it. "You claim to be a coward. No noble purpose, as you put it. And yet the record states that during the attack on the Abernathy birthday party, you apparently escorted several children you discovered hiding in the mansion to a back door leading out into gardens, telling them hide until the police came."

JJ's jaw actually dropped open. "How…?"

Judge Harman smiled. "The children, including young Ellen Abernathy, told the police everything. Apparently you made quite the impression on them. Put simply, they liked you. You risked a lot to help them."

He folded his hands, leaning forward on his desk. "Now I ask you…Does that sound like the actions of a coward?"

JJ shook his head, stunned, and Harman returned his attention to the file in front of him. "I didn't think so…There are several more instances recorded in the files of the police, instances in which you showed mercy uncharacteristic of the Joker or his wife. Most often with children."

He flipped page after page as he spoke. "Here you pushed a child through a window onto a fire escape to hide. Here, you spared a cop, choosing instead to pistol whip him rather than shoot him. Here, you chose to stop in the middle of an escape to pull a woman back up onto the balcony she'd been pushed off of. There are fifteen other recorded instances like these."

"And those say something of you." He closed the file.

"The most that you could be charged with is theft, assault, aiding and abetting. In addition, you're a minor…"

* * *

Lol JJ, not exactly the reception you were expecting was it? roflmao!

REVIEW!

Until next time...


	24. A New Life

Hey fellas, here's a new chapter!

Shout outs to: Teenagejustice, and Guest! You guys/gals are the best!

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

"You ok?" Robin put a hand on JJ's shoulder. They were back in the side room, again waiting on the Batman.

JJ still looked stunned.

JJ looked up from his seat on a bench. He nodded, seemingly in shock. "Yes…I'm alright. I just can't believe it…I have my life back. Well, _a_ life…" he smiled at Robin. "But at least it's a start."

Robin grinned and squeezed his friends shoulder.

Judge Harman had left JJ thunderstruck when he had announced that JJ's punishment was to spend three months in a juvenile facility, after which he would go into a protection program here in Gotham.

While in said protection program he would also participate in community service for six months. He would remain in the protection program until he was of age.

JJ had been stunned speechless by this sentence, having expected to be thrown away into some hell hole prison or other for years. Three months? And then into a protection program with a family?

This was beyond anything he could have ever dreamed!

Robin's grin widened. The poor, speechless teen had barely been able to stammer out a bewildered 'thank you sir' to Judge Harman before leaving the judges office and returning here with Robin.

Unbeknownst to JJ, Batman and Robin had both spoken to Judge Harman telling of their various experiences with the son of the Joker. It was partially on their testimony that the judge had based his decision.

Particularly Robin, as the boy wonder had spent a great deal of time with him in the caves.

"It's a start." Robin agreed. He was silent for a long moment. "So…what name are you gonna go by when you get out of juvie?"

JJ frowned, thoughtful. "I hadn't thought of that." He admitted. "I probably can't use my real name, that might give me away."

Robin snorted. "Joker Jr.? Yeah, I think it's a safe bet that'd be a dead giveaway." He agreed with a grin.

JJ looked up at the boy wonder in surprise. "What? No! Joker Jr. 's not my real name!"

He grinned at the boy wonder's astonished face. "Mamaw helped mid-wife for my mother remember? She took me in to see a doctor the next day to make sure I was healthy, saying my mother slipped away during the night when the hospital asked where the mother was. The doctor was a friend of hers and knew about Mamaw's relations in Gotham, so he didn't ask any questions."

The older teen shrugged. "Mamaw couldn't exactly put 'Joker Junior' on my birth certificate, and she didn't want to saddle me with a name like that anyway. She wanted me to be able to have a normal life away from Pops and his madness, or as close to normal as I could get with green black hair and bleach white skin."

"That does put a limit on normal life." Robin agreed. "So, do either of your parents know your real name?"

JJ shook his head. "I don't think so. Mamaw registered my real name, but she never told Mother what it was. I'm not even sure my parents know I _have _another name!"

He gave a small smile and shook his head."Thankfully, Mother didn't show up much. So as soon as I was old enough, Mamaw made sure I understood the gravity of the situation. JJ was _not_ my name. But whenever my parents were around, that's the handle I went by."

He looked up at the boy wonder and suddenly laughed. "You know she actually had me practice? She'd just randomly call me by 'JJ' or 'Junior' and I had to respond!...And I couldn't have anything with my name on it either. All my schoolwork, birthday and Christmas cards, anything that had my real name on it had to be put away in a box under my floor boards. It'd be really hard/awkward to try and explain to my parents why my stuff didn't say JJ or Junior on it."

Robin chuckled and nodded. "Know _that_ feeling!" He agreed. "So. No JJ or Junior, and your real name's not an option… Any name you've taken a particular liking to?"

"Not really." JJ admitted with a shrug. "I should probably pick something generic though. Like John or something."

"Or Bob." Robin deadpanned.

JJ groaned. "God, that's almost as bad Steve."

Robin grinned, nodding. He pursed his lips thoughtfully. "How about…David?"

JJ was silent, carefully considering the name. "David…I like it. But I'll need a last name to you know…David. David…Carter. David Carter. Does that sound ok?"

Robin nodded. "Sounds about right to me." He agreed.

"JJ. It's time to go." The two boys whipped around to face the door, both wondering how long the Dark Knight had been standing there watching them. "The van is here for you."

The two boys rose, and quietly followed the caped crusader out into the hall once again.

He didn't say a word, silently leading them through halls and stairways until they reached a hidden back door.

A dark, grayish black van waited in the small alleyway beyond, several blue uniformed Gotham P.D. officers alertly standing guard.

One was standing just inside the door, apparently waiting for them. She snapped to attention the instant they came into view.

"Officer Montoya." Batman said, by way of greeting. He gestured to the handcuffed JJ. "This is your charge." He quietly removed the Bat cuffs, allowing Montoya room to apply her own standard police cuffs. "Make sure he gets there safely."

Montoya clicked the cuffs into place before meeting his eyes.

"You have my word sir." She answered. She gently took hold of JJ's elbow. "Come on young man, let's get this show on the road."

JJ nodded.

As he walked down the steps from the doorway, he couldn't repress a shiver, and an odd feeling of déjà vu. Once again he was being led away from those he trusted, the hand of someone he barely knew holding onto his elbow as he was led to a waiting car.

A car that would carry him to his, once again, uncertain future.

He paused for a moment at the van's entrance, glancing back over his shoulder. Batman and Robin were standing just inside the open door. Robin grinned encouragingly and waved.

JJ smiled. Inclining his head in silent salute, he straightened his shoulders and turned to face the van once more.

He could do this.

* * *

"And you're sure of this?"

The thug nodded, cowering before the purple clad figure of the Joker. "Yeah, I'm sure Mr. Joker, sir. My cousin's got a job in records over at the courthouse and stuff, and she says she saw it with 'er own eyes. 'parently some judge or other met with the Batman and his brat in private, and they spirited yer kid away somewhere's. She don't know where though."

"Hmm…this puts a crimp in my plans." The Joker muttered darkly.

He steepled his fingers, quietly starring off into space for a moment or two. "But hey, I'm a flexible kind of guy!" He returned his maniacal gaze to the thug, who very clearly wanted to be anywhere else but there.

"There's only two judges who'd see the Batman." He said standing. "And that's Harman and Reefer." He grinned, poking the terrified thug in the nose for the sheer hell of it. "And you know what?"

"….what?" the terrified thug quavered.

Joker grinned. "Neither one is very tough on kids. They'll give my delightful delinquent a light sentence, then try and hide him away somewhere."

He walked his fingers up the quivering thugs forehead, flicking the man's hat off when he reached it. "And when they do, we'll be ready for them."

His gaze hardened. "No more elaborate games. The son of the Joker either joins me, or he dies." He shoved the thug away. "I want to know when the prodigal son returns to Gotham. Find out."

The thug nodded and scrambled away, snatching his hat off the floor on the way out. He didn't know how he was going to get the information his boss wanted, but he sure as hell was going to pull in every favor he had trying to get it.

Failure was _not_ an option!

Joker slowly stalked away to his desk, his eyes hungrily sweeping over the various plans crudely outlined and illustrated on sheets of large yellow paper, various notes and photos taped or paper clipped to this sheet or that.

Patience wasn't his forte, but he could muster a surprising amount when the situation absolutely demanded it. Now was one of those times.

Oh yes, he'd wait for JJ to return to Gotham.

Because he knew the boy would. No matter how much the boy might say otherwise, the two of them were very much the same.

Like father. Like son.

JJ would come to him eventually, and then the Joker would have him.

All he had to do was wait…

* * *

Hope you liked it! The next chapter will have a bit of a time jump as I don't have much experience with the judical system and so wont be covering JJ's time in Juvie. I had more fun studying the forensic and investigative side of things!

Review! Press that little button!

Until next time...


	25. Mail Call

Time jump! Just so you guys aren't confused (and just to see who actually reads what I write here) this is about a week after JJ gets out of 'juvie'.

Shout outs to: Smokeydirtcat, and Teenagejustice! You two ladies are awsome beyond compare!

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

"Hey David, how's homework coming?"

JJ, now alias David Carter, looked up from a calculator, math book, and notebook. He gave a mock grimace. "It's coming." He answered.

The tall man with dark brown hair standing in the doorway chuckled. He didn't buy it for a minute. He and his brother had gotten to know JJ over the past three months the boy had spent in the Juvenile center so that their cover as his uncles would seem more legitimate.

The teen had now been living under his roof for almost a week.

On top of everything else, Rick was a cop with good instincts. He could tell when the teenager was faking.

"What are you working on?" he asked, entering the room.

JJ was sprawled out full length on his bed, propped up on his elbows with his various school supplies spread out on the blankets before him. He scooted over, making room on the bed for the man to take a seat beside him.

"Solving linear equations graphically." He answered.

The man hissed in sympathy. "I never was much good with math. History was more my thing." He admitted. "Danny's pretty good at that kind of stuff though."

"Mental note: Do not ask Rick for help with Algebra homework." JJ nodded, grinning. "Good thing Danny's good at math, cause I'm stuck on this one. What time does Danny get back?"

Rick pushed his sleeve back and scrutinized his watch. "Meh…about half an hour or so. Just circle that one and go on to the rest. You can always come back to that one later." He stood. "Speaking of Danny and problems, I'd better get dinner on the stove. You know how he is when he gets home from a hard day."

JJ grinned. "Voracious." He answered.

"You said it!" Rick agreed. "I'll call you down as soon as dinner's ready. You can pose your problem to Danny after that." He ruffled the teens hair warmly and left the room.

"You two seem to be getting along all right."

JJ whipped around at the sound of that familiar voice, a huge grin breaking out across his face. "Robin!"

The young acrobat was contentedly perched on the sill of JJ's, now open, window. He smiled at the clowns obvious delight, rising and moving to take Rick's place on the bed.

"How are you settling in?"

"It's not exactly what I thought it would be, and the makeup to hide my white skin and keeping my hair dyed black is a pain, but over all I'm happy. It's amazing to finally have a quote unquote 'normal life' again!" JJ made air quotes on the words 'normal life'.

Robin nodded. "I'll bet!... So…What sort of cover story did they come up with to explain why you're living with a pair of guys?"

JJ laughed. "Not the one you're thinking!" He answered.

"You couldn't find a straighter pair of guys! Rick and Danny are brothers, and they have a sister living overseas or something like that. So I'm supposedly the sisters son, and while the rent's are traveling the globe, I'm stuck here in school. They're just looking after me to make sure I don't do something incredibly stupid." JJ explained. "They're my 'uncles'."

"And the school work?" Robin asked curiously, leaning over to eye JJ's math homework.

"Some sort of scholarship." JJ answered, a slight frown on his face. "I didn't quite understand that part. They had me take a bunch of tests, and apparently my marks were high enough to warrant a scholarship to Gotham Academy." He gestured at the notebook Robin was currently studying. "So now I'm sitting here working on Algebra."

He shook his head. "And I gave up a life of crime for this?" he joked.

Robin laughed. He tapped a gloved finger on the page. "This the one you're having trouble with?" JJ nodded, and Robin grinned. "Here, let me have your pencil." JJ handed it to him, and the boy wonder quickly explained. "You're doing the equation right, you just forgot to carry the negative over here, and you added instead of multiplied over here. You did everything else right, so just change those to little slip ups and you should get the right answer."

JJ face palmed. "Of all the stupid little mistakes…" he muttered.

"Hey, everyone makes mistakes, just be glad it was a little one!" Robin answered, handing him back his pencil.

JJ erased out his mistakes and was correcting the problem when a thought occurred to him. He stopped, then began to chuckle.

Robin cocked his head. "What?"

"How many kids can say they have a super hero for a tutor?" JJ asked, grinning.

Robin laughed and shook his head. "Not many." He agreed, leaning over to check JJ's work, and nodding when the clown wrote down the correct answer.

JJ finished and dropped his pencil with a sigh of relief. A frown crossed his features and he gave Robin a quizzical look. "You didn't just come here to help check my math homework….Why are you _really_ here Robin?"

The boy wonder held up two gloved fingers. "Two reasons." He counted them off. "One. To see how you were settling in here with your new 'Uncles'." He made air quotes around the word Uncles, grinning.

"And two…." He slowly drew a folded envelope out of his utility belt and passed it to the confused clown. "…to explain how the mailing system works around here."

JJ frowned and unfolded the envelope.

His eyes widened at the sight of the oh so familiar hand writing on the front. He hurriedly tore it open and unfolded the letter, his eyes seeking out the signature on the bottom of the third page to confirm what he already knew.

Tears welled in his eyes as he cast Robin a grateful look. "Thank you." He murmured. He looked back down at the letter in his hands and shook his head, almost at a loss for words. "I don't know what to say…"

Robin clapped him on the shoulder. "You've already said it."

He handed JJ a small key and stood, preparing to leave. "There's a box at the post office for you. That's what the key's for. We've already told your grandmother to send her letters there. You can pick them up on the way home from school. Any letters _you_ send need to be dropped off in a mailbox, not mailed directly from this house. You sign them with your alias, and leave no return address."

He grinned, climbing up onto the window sill.

"Think you can handle that?" The clown nodded vigorously. "Good. Close the window after I'm out." He gave the teen a two fingered salute and leapt out into the night. "Have fun!"

JJ hurriedly scrambled up off the bed and ran to the window, his eyes searching for the boy wonder.

He knew Robin was a fantastic gymnast by now. But still, he smiled when he saw the young ninja land on a nearby rooftop and send a cheeky wave back at him before disappearing into the night.

The clown shut the window and returned to the bed.

He half expected the letter to just disappear in a puff of smoke, like a magician's illusion. But no, it was still lying there on the bed, along with the envelope and the key.

He picked it up and stretched out full length on the bed again, grabbing his pillow and propping himself up on it. He shuffled the pages again to get at the first one and quietly began to read, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

* * *

That was how Rick found him half an hour later.

"Hey, dinner's ready…Passing notes with a girl already? It's only your third day at school!" he came to sit by the edge of the bed, whistling when he saw the multiple pages. "Wow. That's one serious love letter kid!"

JJ laughed and whacked at his 'uncle' with a pillow. "Ha, ha. It's from my grandma."

Rick frowned. "Your real grandma? She knows where you are?" he asked, worried that JJ's cover was blown.

JJ shook his head. "No. Robin dropped it off. He gave me this to." He held up the key. "He said it's for a post office box. Mamaw can send her letters there, and I can pick them up after school on the way home."

"Ah." Rick nodded, relieved.

Downstairs, the two could hear a door open and close.

"Honey, I'm home!" Danny's voice called.

The two groaned, and JJ rolled over on his back, dramatically face palming with both hands. "And I _just_ got through explaining to Robin that you two are brothers…!"

* * *

lol, I often use my sisters and brother as springboards to bounce ideas off of, and when I pitched the idea of Danny and Rick her first thought was that I had written a gay couple! While that wasn't what I had intended, I figured if she thought that straight off others would to! And that could make for a very amusing scene!

I hope I didn't offend anyone with the gay jokes, I know some people are very touchy about that. I've got nothing against it, I'm friends with several people who are. So, if you must flame, know that they will be used to toast marshmallows.

Review!

Until next time...


	26. Terror in The Night

Woot! Woot! Coming right along! I might even be able to get up another chapter of Seeds Of Evil later on tonight! Wish me luck!

Shout out to the faithful few: Smokeydirtcat, and Teenagejustice! You ladies are the bomb!

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

Danny frown and rolled over, propping himself up on his elbow. He glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table.

**_11:30. Rick left for work hours ago! _**

He strained his ears, listening for that odd noise that had caught his attention. But nothing more was forthcoming.

"Probably the darn cat…" he muttered darkly.

He tossed the covers back anyway, still grumbling to himself as he swung his legs out of bed and set bare feet on the cold floor, further annoying him. He quietly opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out his service weapon, leaving the drawer open as he silently crossed the bedroom and slipped out into the hall.

**_Just you watch, you paranoid fool. It'll be your darn cat knocking books off shelves again, and _you'll_ feel like the biggest idiot in creation._** He thought to himself as he quietly padded down the upstairs hall, checking the rooms as he went.

Maybe he'd been a cop to long, but he couldn't seem to shake the feeling that something wasn't _right_.

He checked the downstairs, even going so far as to make sure all the doors and windows were still locked and that his cat was still locked in the downstairs bathroom where he'd left her. Nothing seemed out of place. The cat was where she was supposed to be, and no one had broken into his house.

So why did he _still_ feel like there was something wrong?

Danny shook his head. He needed to get more sleep, life as a Gotham cop was getting to him! Gun still in hand he made his way back upstairs, yawning tiredly. The minute his head touched pillow he was going to be out like a light, he _knew_ it!

He was passing JJ's room when he heard it.

He paused, moving closer to the door to make sure he'd heard correctly. JJ was sobbing, quietly, but Danny was certain the teen was sobbing. Fear and adrenalin hit his system in a cold wash.

Could he have missed someone when he checked JJ's room earlier? Or had they slipped up the stairs while he was checking one of the other rooms?

He resettled his grip on his Glock.

None of that mattered right now, he'd figure it out later. At this time, all that mattered was the fact that it was his job to protect JJ, and from the sound of things JJ needed protecting right _now_!

His hand found the knob and he flung the door open, gun at the ready.

Danny stopped, frowning at the sight that met his eyes. He swept the room, making sure that he wasn't going to get ambushed, then quietly made his way to the bed. He had been right, JJ _did_ need protecting tonight.

He needed protecting from _himself_.

JJ sobbed brokenly as he tossed and turned on the bed, trapped in the throes of a nightmare. Danny set his gun down on the bedside table and slowly sat down on the bed, not entirely sure what to do.

"No! Get away!" JJ sobbed. "Don't touch me! Get away! Please… just leave me alone…please…."

Danny put his hand on JJ's shoulder, gently shaking the boy in an effort to wake him. This only seemed to intensify JJ's nightmare.

The boy screamed, lashing out at Danny in his sleep. The cop scrambled back, trying to dodge the blows and failing.

JJ could really hit!

Feeling completely useless, Danny stood at the thrashing teens bedside, staring down at his young charge. He looked around the room and his eyes lit on a bottle of water on the floor just underneath the edge of the bed. He snatched it up without hesitation, twisting off the cap and splashing the contents across JJ's face.

JJ's eyes shot open. "No!" he screamed, bolting upright in bed.

**_Stuff the bruises!_** Danny thought grimly.

He sat down on the bed again and grabbed the teens shoulders. "JJ! JJ, it's me, Danny! Come on kid, snap out of it! It was just a dream!"

JJ froze.

He starred at Danny, blue grey eyes filled with pure terror, as if the man were a hideous monster.

**_Crap! I scared him!_**

Danny's face softened and he loosened his hold on JJ's shoulders. The cop gently brushed some of the boy's hair back off his sweaty forehead. "It's ok. It was just a dream. You're safe here."

Recognition crossed JJ's face and he looked away, fresh tears welling in his eyes. "I'm s-sorry." He stammered. "I didn't mean to w-wake you."

Danny gently pulled the teenager close. For a second he felt him stiffen and he thought he might pull away, but after a long moment the young clown relaxed, resting his head on the man's shoulder.

"You think I give a _crap_ if you woke me up?" Danny murmured in his ear, gently rubbing the teen's back. "I'm just glad you're ok! I heard you havin' your nightmare and for a minute I thought someone had broken into the house and found you!"

He shook his head, his other hand coming up to stroke JJ's hair. "You're not in that madman's hands anymore JJ. That's over with. You're safe here."

JJ whimpered softly, closing his eyes against the images the nightmares had dredged up. "You really mean that?" he asked, looking up at the brunet with too bright eyes.

Danny smiled, gently brushing the boy's tears away with the pad of his thumb. "I do. You wake me up anytime you like kid. That's what Rick and I are here for. And we're not leaving anytime soon."

JJ gave him a watery smile and looked away. "I'm all right now. You don't have to stay here…"

Danny shook his head. "Nothin' doin'. I'm gonna sit right here until you get back to sleep." he grinned at JJ's startled look. "Now you've got a choice. You can either lay back down, or I can keep holding you. Whichever you're more comfortable with…"

JJ chewed his lip for a moment, before hesitantly laying his head against Danny's shoulder again.

"…hold me…"

* * *

"So tell me dandy Andy! Where's my kid?" Joker cackled, playfully swinging a Yo-yo back and forth. He suddenly dropped his hand lower, allowing the Yo-yo to roll across the floor and back up the string.

The thug standing in front of him blanched, cowering away from the madman. He nervously pulled his hat off, fidgeting with it. "You see Mr. Joker sir…I, uh…"

Joker slowly turned, his maniacal eyes narrowing. "You…what? Where's. My. Kid? It's a simple question." He slowly stalked closer, continuing to play with his Yo-yo. "Harley's hyenas could probably answer it."

The thug was pale, sweating. "I don't know." He murmured.

Joker cocked his head, coming even closer. "I can't _hear_ you!" he sang in a sing song voice. "Speak up Andy!"

The thug took a deep breath, bracing himself for whatever was about to be hurled his way. "I don't know!"

A dead silence fell, the only sound being the snuffling of the hyenas off in one corner.

Joker's face contorted in rage. His arm suddenly whipped out, and the next thing the thug knew, he was lying on the floor.

The Joker towered over him, his now bloody Yo-yo still rising and falling from his fingers.

The phone in the thugs pocket started to ring. Joker leered at him menacingly. "Go ahead Andy. Answer it. And I do so hope that it's your mother calling, because this is your one phone call…"

The trembling man fumbled his phone out of his pocket, nearly dropping it he was shaking so hard.

"H-hello? Who's t-this?" It took his terrified mind several minutes to make sense of what the voice on the other end of the line was saying, but once he did his face lit up with elation and relief. "Y-you…you did? T-that's great!"

He covered the mouthpiece of the phone with his hand and looked up at his deadly employer. "Th-they found Joker Jr. s-sir. H-he, he's holed up in a house with a couple a cops. O-over on fifth and g-grand. N-number s-six seventy-two…p-please don't kill m-me, Mr. Joker s-sir. I-I did what you asked!"

Joker gazed at him for several long minutes, his mind racing. Then his trademark smile reappeared. "So you did! So you did! Cutting it a little close to the wire though don't 'cha think?"

He cackled, ruffling the thugs hair. "Harley!"

Harley stuck her head out of the kitchen, her mask dangling from her hand. Her sky blue eyes were red rimmed and had bags under them. "Yeah puddin'?"

Joker finally pocketed his Yo-yo and snatched his coat off the coat rack by the door. "It seems the dratted Bat has done us a favor. Andy here just told me that JJ's been hidden over in a house on the corner of Fifth and Grand. What's say we go get our kid back, hm?"

Harley stared at him, stunned. "JJ's alive?"

He nodded, motioning impatiently for her to hurry up. "Yes, yes, now come on! Let's go!" He had to get to JJ before the brat told anyone, Harley in particular, that Joker had tried to kill him.

Joker had and he didn't mind it being noised around, but where Harley wouldn't believe what the other crooks of Gotham said, she _would_ believe JJ! Which would result in a colossal beat down for Joker at the hands of Harley and her hammer!

"You mean it? " Harley's eyes lit up when the Joker again confirmed that JJ was alive. She whooped and cart wheeled out of the kitchen, landing next to her lover.

Pulling her jesters cap on over her head, she grabbed her own trench coat off the rack and darted out the door. "Come on Babies! Lets go get JJ!"

Joker cackled, as the hyenas raced out, hot on her heals. "See ya later Andy!" he called, darting out after them.

"My name's Zeke…" the thug muttered, watching the door swing shut behind the clown prince of crime.

* * *

Reviews are food to writers, and frankly, I'd be starving if it weren't for the two awsome ladies I mentioned at the top! Come one guys, FEED ME!

Until next time...


	27. Honey! I'm Home!

Here you go guys!

Shout outs and virtual bat cookies go to the awsomeness that is: Guest, Tessika14, Kyaserin Marii!

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

"How's he doing Rick?" Danny asked softly from his seat at the kitchen table, deft fingers hard at work weaving a series of cords together.

It was one of those rare days when both brothers were off of work.

Usually on days like that they just lazed around the apartment, doing only the necessities. Occasionally they'd go for a jog together.

Today was one of those lazy days.

Rick sighed and looked up from his sink full of dirty dishes. He gave his brother a small smile and turned off the faucet, drying his hands before coming over and seating himself at the table across from Danny.

"He's happy here…"

Danny grinned. "Well, we must be doing something right!"

Rick nodded. "Yeah. And it's been fun watching him get used to us and getting to really know him over the past several weeks since he came to live with us! If I could ever _really_ have a nephew...He misses her, you know?"

Danny's hands paused in their work, and he cocked his head at the sudden change of topic. "Who?"

"His grandma." Rick shook his head, quietly helping his brother with the weaving. "The woman was almost all he knew for the majority of his life, and now he hasn't seen her in over seven months…"

He sighed. "There's more I think. Every now and then I'll catch him with this sad look on his face, the kind you get when you're remembering something painful. I can almost _guarantee_ more happened to him while he was with his parents than we know."

Danny nodded. "Yeah. Have you ever gone to touch him, and had him flinch away from you? Like he expected you to hurt him?"

Rick nodded, and Danny continued. "He always apologizes for it, but I can't help but feel like…" he sighed and shook his head.

"You work nights Rick, so it's not often you're here when he hits the hay. There've been several nights, especially during that first week, when he'd have nightmares. A lot of times, I hear him calling for someone named Danae. Sometimes he's just full out crying and thrashing. But he _always_ wakes up screaming."

Danny stared at his brother. "He wakes up and he's scared out of his _wits_ Rick! I hold him, and talk to him until he calms down, but he never wants to talk about the nightmares. He just apologizes for waking me up and goes back to sleep….I wish there was more we could do to make him feel at home, like he belongs here. I wish there was something we could do to make him feel _safe_."

Rick nodded. "Me too. But you've got to understand Danny, once bitten, twice shy. Someone hurt that kid, _probably_ his own parents, and as much as we'd like him to trust us straight off trust is something we're gonna have to _earn._"

He grinned. "And as for the making him feel at home, tonight might help out a little. It was great of the guys to sub for me so we could both be home tonight!"

He finished the last few knots in his section and smirked at his brother. "Done! You?"

Danny grinned and tied off one last knot before standing and holding their creation up for his brother's inspection. "Just finished! What'd you think?"

Rick leaned forward across the table and caught hold of the netting again, holding it open more to see it better. "It's great! That's the best hammock we've made yet Danny!"

Danny grinned and sat at the table again, carefully folding the hammock and putting it in a gift box. "I leant him mine back when he was in 'juvie', and those creeps slashed up his cot. He liked it so much, I figured maybe he'd like one of his own…Do you think he'll like it?"

Rick laughed and clapped his brother on the shoulder. "He'll love it! He's not like most kids, in case you haven't noticed!"

Danny nodded, writing 'To David' on the top of the box. "You can say that again! He's probably the only kid in this entire _neighborhood_ who's not afraid of Widow Morrison's dog!"

"Well I should hope not, considering the fact that he sleeps with these!"

The two cops whipped around and leapt to their feet, their eyes wide and hands instinctively flying for guns they were no longer wearing.

Joker stood in the doorway leading from the hall into the kitchen.

Behind him stood Harley, and at his feet stood Bud and Lou. He leveled a handgun at the two off duty cops, grinning.

"Now why don't you two be good little boys and tell us where JJ is?" he sneered, the threat all too clear in his eyes.

He wouldn't hesitate to shoot them.

The brothers slowly raised their hands, acknowledging the fact that Joker had the drop on them for the time being. Rick glanced sideways at Danny, catching his brother's wide, frightened his eyes.

Danny was scared, his skin pale and sweaty, but he gave Rick a determined look and shook his head ever so slightly.

They wouldn't give these clowns a blasted thing if they could help it!

"Don't know no JJ. You clowns sure you got the right house?" Danny asked, cocking his head in mock annoyance.

"Oh, I'm certain of it!" Joker cackled as he stepped into the room. "I heard it from a _very _reliable source. People tend to tell the truth when you off them an all expenses paid trip to the afterlife!"

Harley stalked slowly into the room, her blue eyes blazing.

She suddenly swung her hammer, slamming Rick in the stomach as hard as she could. He folded like a house of cards, wheezing for the breath that had been knocked out of him.

"Rick!" Danny dropped his hands and moved toward his brother, his face anxious.

"Back off buster!" Harley yelled, her hammer making impact with Danny's face and sending him stumbling back to crash against the far wall.

She returned her attention to Rick, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and hauling him up till he was nose to nose with the angry mother.

"Where. Is. My. Son…?"

* * *

"Honey, I'm home!" JJ shouted, closing the front door behind him.

Danny always yelled that when he came home in the evenings, and JJ had gotten into the habit, something Rick was constantly teasing him about.

He stepped out of his shoes, setting them in the closet beside Rick and Danny's boots, tennis shoes, and dress shoes. His book bag was quickly discarded on a bench in the hall, followed quickly by his coat.

He frowned.

His 'uncles' hadn't answered him yet. "Uncle Danny? Uncle Rick?" No answer. The house remained as quiet as a tomb.

**_Where are they? _**

**_ I don't like this. _**Mini me muttered darkly. **_The house is too quiet. Those two idiots are _****never****_ quiet!_**

JJ nodded grimly, fishing an ink pen out of his pants pocket. **_All their shoes are still in the closet. They wouldn't have gone out in their bare feet, not in Gotham City. That's just asking for trouble. Something's _****wrong****_._**

Mini me snorted. **_You've known they were planning something for days, chances are they're waiting to surprise you, chucklehead!...What are you doing with that ink pen?_**

JJ shook his head, removing the cap and slipping it back in his pocket.

He reversed his grip on the pen so that the tip pointed straight down. **_No Mini me. Even if they _****were ****_trying to surprise me, they would've called out to lure me into whatever room they were waiting in…No, something's wrong. And as for the pen, I'm not allowed to carry weapons. An ink pen can make a good substitute though…Pops showed me that._**

**_ Nothing like firsthand information._** Mini me answered dryly.

He started to panic though when JJ began to move further into the house. **_Wait! Wait! WAIT! What are you doing! Don't go into the house if you think there's trouble, grab your shoes and coat and get out! _**

JJ ignored him and continued to creep down the hall in his socks, his back pressed against the wall.

Remembering the way he'd seen the police check rooms back when he'd been a criminal and on the run, he quietly began searching the house for his 'uncles'.

**_I'm telling you, this is a bad idea!_** Mini me shouted. **_Seriously! Haven't you ever watched Hitchcock's films?_**

JJ frowned, pausing. **_Um…no. And how is that relevant?_**

**_ Because the character knows there's a psycho in their house! But do they leave? No! They insist on going and looking for said psycho on the off chance that their instincts are wrong!_** Mini me wailed.

JJ shook his head and started moving again. **_I know my instincts are right Mini me. And that's my edge. I _****know****_ they're here. They've lost the element of surprise. _**

He slipped into the living room, eyeing the couches suspiciously. **_In the meantime, you need to shut your mouth and stop distracting me. I can't…I _****won't****_ leave without finding out what happened to Danny and Rick. I owe them that much._**

It didn't take him long to find them.

JJ peered into the kitchen, and his heart froze.

The kitchen was trashed, like there had been a fight. Rick was sprawled out in the middle of the tile floor, the remains of a busted chair on and around his broken form.

Danny was crumpled against a wall, trapped underneath a fallen wooden cabinet. Both men were bloody, and it looked as though they might have broken bones.

The minutes spent checking the kitchen for ambushers were the longest minutes of JJ's life. But he finally entered the kitchen.

Rick was closer, and had a larger blood puddle around his body, so he went to the his side first. A small, analytical corner of his mind noted that Rick was the younger of the two brothers.

He pressed his fingers against his friends neck, breathing a sigh of relief when he found a steady pulse.

"Thank you…" he whispered. He gently slid his hands underneath Rick's body, carefully turning him over.

**_Wait!_**

JJ froze, Rick only half way turned over. JJ's eyes darted round the kitchen, looking for whatever had caused Mini me's distress. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary…his eyes narrowed.

Was that…?

**_Yep. That's exactly what you think it is genius._** Mini me stated grimly. **_And you've been breathing it in ever since you walked into the kitchen!_**

JJ stared at the pale green mist floating through the air, his chest tightening as past experiences with that gas came to mind. His eyes slowly returned to Rick, and he hesitantly pulled him over the rest of the way.

His breath hitched in his throat.

Rick's eyes were closed, but his lips were drawn back in a repulsive, grisly smile. A small giggle escaped the man's throat, making JJ blanch.

Tears welled in JJ's eyes, as he lifted his shirt up over his mouth and nose. It wasn't likely to do much good, but still. He hurriedly scrambled to his feet and ran to check on Danny, only to find the same ghastly result.

They had been exposed to Joker venom.

JJ closed his eyes, trying to blot out the horrible scene in front of him, before standing. He walked away, opening windows to air out the apartment. Joker venom didn't stand up to well to a stiff breeze, and was only potent in concentrated doses.

JJ took a deep breath at the window, then pulled his shirt back up over his nose and returned his attention to the kitchen and its occupants.

The phone had apparently been sent flying during the fight, and it took him a few minutes to find the machine in the pantry where it had been hurled.

Miraculously, the cords were still intact.

_9-1-1 Emergency, please state the nature of your emergency._

"H-Hello, my uncles are hurt. Someone b-broke into our house, and t-they're both unconscious. I-I think the J-Joker might've done it." JJ said into the phone.

_Stay calm son, help is on the way. I need you to tell me how badly your uncles are hurt, and why you think it's the Joker. _

"Th-they're both bleeding, a-and Uncle Danny's trapped under the c-cabinet." JJ stammered. He made a face and pressed the trembling phone harder against his ear. The frightened stammer might have been fake, but the trembling of his hands was not.

"Th-they're both s-smiling…"

_Stay calm, help is on the way. _The dispatcher answered calmly. _I've traced your call and have dispatched police and ambulances to your location. They should be arriving soon._

JJ nodded. Help was coming. "Th-thank you s-sir. P-please tell them t-to hurry."

_Son you need to stay on the line…_

JJ hung up the phone, neatly setting it back on the counter where it was supposed to be. A soft, giggling sound came to his ears, and he turned. One of his uncles was awake.

"Danny…"

The teen scrambled across the debris to his guardians side, clasping Danny's hands in his own. The cop stared dazedly back at him, his giggles quickly escalating into full blown laughter.

JJ gently brushed some of the man's dark brown hair back out of his eyes, a small corner of his mind noting that Danny needed a haircut.

He took a deep, shaky breath. "I'm sorry Danny. I'm so sorry. I did this to you and Rick. It's all my fault!" Danny's hazy eyes seemed to sharpen, and he clumsily grabbed hold of the front of JJ's sweatshirt. JJ ignored it, gripping his guardians free hand.

"Help's coming Danny, I called 9-1-1."

Tears welled in his eyes, and he shook his head. "But I can't… I can't do this anymore Danny. As long as my father's alive, anyone who's close to me gets hurt and I can't do it anymore…" Danny's grip on his shirt front tightened and JJ bit his lip.

"I'm leaving. And I won't be coming back."

Danny starred at him for a long minute, tears welling in his own eyes. Still laughing, he clumsily let go of JJ's shirt and pointed off to one side. JJ frowned, following the gesture.

It took his eyes a minute to register the fact that the bright red gift box probably wasn't a normal part of the kitchen.

He gently picked the box up and brought it close.

A small smile lit his face at the sight of his name written on the top in sharpie marker. "Oh! So that's it! I knew you two were up to something, you've been chortling and sneaking around here for days!" He pulled the lid off, and his smile widened. He met Danny's eyes and nodded.

"Thank you."

JJ stood, and turned away, checking Rick on his way out to make sure the man hadn't worsened. He had to hurry. The police and ambulances would be here soon.

**_So we're leaving are we? Exactly when did you come to this brilliant conclusion?_** Mini me grumbled acidly.

**_About ten seconds after I saw Rick and Danny. _**JJ thought back at him. He'd dumped his school books out on the bed and was in the process of putting more practical items in.

Things he would need to survive on the harsh streets of Gotham.

**_And exactly where do you think we're going?_** Mini me wanted to know. **_It's not exactly like we've got anywhere _****to ****_go!...But you know that! You fully intend on hitting the streets! _**

JJ rolled his eyes, pushing the folded hammock into his backpack. "That wasn't obvious before?" He zipped the bag up and dropped it on his bed, stripping out of his sweatshirt and grabbing the heaviest one he owned out of his closet.

Nights would be cold.

JJ slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed for the stairs. "I can't do it anymore Mini. I can't keep hurting people."

**_Yes you can! You're the son of the Joker! What's it matter if a couple of people get creamed? There are thousands of people in this city, and hundreds of thousands in this state! They won't be missed in the grand scheme of things! And don't call me Mini! I'm not some stupid female mouse!_** Mini me fussed.

JJ smiled despite himself at that.

_Finally_, a card he could play against his little devil! Oh, he was going to enjoy using this! He pulled a sleeping bag out of a closet downstairs and returned to the kitchen, checking on the cops and packing whatever foods were light and traveled well into his bag.

All the while Danny continued to watch him with sad eyes and cackle. He couldn't help it, the venom had him fully in its thrall.

JJ sat beside him and pulled on his tennis shoes. "All packed and ready to go Danny. But I'll wait until the cops get here."

As if on cue, sirens began to approach in the distance.

JJ chuckled and levered himself up onto his feet. "Speak of the devil, right Danny?...Thank you. For everything. If you get the chance, tell Rick for me, ok?"

He knew Danny would be almost incapable of responding, and he turned to leave, intending to use the back door as his escape route.

"David…"

JJ's eyes widened and he stopped. "David doesn't live here anymore Danny." He said softly, a small smile playing on his lips.

"JJ's back in town…"

* * *

I know we all want JJ's life to be a happily ever after story, he's been through so much!...yeah, sadly, he doesn't have that kind of luck. He's still got a few things he needs to get squared away. However, you have my word this isn't the last we'll here of Rick and Danny.

Review!

Until next time...


	28. What Happened?

Shout outs to: Smokeydirtcat, and Guest! The only two to comment on the last chapter! To you I give an unlimited amoutn of virtual batcookies! To the rest of you...SHAME!

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

"Bruce, what's wrong?"

Bruce Wayne put down the phone and returned his hand to the wheel. "Alfred called. A boy called 9-1-1, saying that someone had broken into his home and hurt his uncles, and that he thought it might have been the Joker. His uncles were laughing."

Dick frowned. "That doesn't make any sense! Why would the Joker attack some random house and…" he trailed off and his eyes widened. "JJ. He thought JJ was living there!"

Bruce nodded grimly. "And he was right. 9-1-1 traced the call to JJ's safe house. Both Daniel and Rick Andrews were found at the scene, injured and exposed to Joker venom. They're on their way to Gotham General now."

Dick bit his lip. "And JJ?"

Bruce's frown deepened. "So far, no trace has been found of their nephew David Carter."

Dick paled. "Sounds like Batman and Robin have a long night ahead of them."

Bruce nodded. They finally escaped the city limits and he increased his speed. "Yes it does…"

* * *

**_Ok. Crummy old building in the middle of a crummy old district two years older than crummy old dirt…Why are we here again?_**

JJ rolled his eyes. "In case you can't tell in there, I'm rolling my eyes." He stated and pushed a door open.

He'd been on the street for a couple days, and had found himself falling into the habit of talking to Mini me aloud. The habit had actually helped pass him off as a somewhat out of it street rat. "How is it you can be inside my head, and yet have no clue what the heck I'm up to?"

**_The same way you don't know what I'm thinking. _**Mini me answered. **_So if you'd be a good little clown and explain…?_**

JJ made a face at the word clown. **_You obviously weren't paying attention to mother then. _**He thought smugly at the little voice.

He sighed and added aloud, "This is one of Pop's old hideouts. He hasn't used it in years cause the Bat knows about it. But Mother keeps it all stocked up just in case."

Mini me snorted. **_Some hideout! _**

JJ pulled on a loose piece of trim along the ceiling. A door swung open in the paneled wall in front of him, revealing a neat living room beyond. He grinned at Mini me's startled exclamation.

"Yep. Some hideout!"

He quietly entered the hideout, closing the door behind him and heading across the living room to his father's work room. "We can't stay here long though. Like I said, Batman knows about it. For all I know, the cops might too. So we'd better make this quick!"

**_Um…Exactly what, pray tell, are we here for? _**Mini me asked.

JJ opened a drawer and grinned. "We just found it." He answered.

The teen slipped one hand into the drawer, letting his finger's play through the contents. "Oh, yeah. We are gonna have _so_ much fun with these!"

* * *

"Daniel and Rick Andrews?"

The two young men looked up from their game of checkers at the sound of the nurses voice. Having been exposed to Joker venom, the hospital had insisted on keeping them for a few days observation.

Unfortunately for the hospital staff, neither were very good patients.

They wanted to be up and about. Specifically, they wanted to be up and about looking for JJ. After driving the staff nuts with their cabin fever for a couple hours the doctor had finally agreed to allow them out of bed in wheelchairs so that they could play checkers, in the vain hope that it would keep them occupied.

He had been met with limited success.

"Commissioner Gordon!" Danny and Rick both moved to stand, but the commissioner waived them both back into their seats.

Gordon pulled up a chair to their table and settled himself into it. "You two 'ave been through enough for one day, don't stand up on my account."

He ran his eye over the board and shook his head. "Danny, you still stink at checkers." His face became serious. "What happened Andrews?"

"Well sir…" Rick started.

"You see sir…" Danny said at the exact same time.

The two brothers looked at each other for a second, then Rick motioned for Danny to proceed. "We don't know sir." Danny stated grimly. "As far as we could tell, no one knew who Dav…I mean _JJ_ was."

He gestured helplessly. "Rick and I were in the kitchen working on a hammock when Joker just waltzed right into our kitchen with Harley and those two hyenas of hers. They _knew_ JJ was staying with us!"

Rick nodded and took up the story. "They didn't know about him going to school though. When they figured out he wasn't in the house, they tried to get where he was out of us…We didn't give them anything commissioner, I swear."

Gordon nodded. "Go on."

"And don't leave anything out please." Robin called from the window, surprising all three of them.

The dark knight quietly slipped through the window behind the twelve year old, nodding to Gordon and the officers.

"Continue." He growled.

Danny nodded. "They ruffed us up. When I woke up, Joker and Harley were gone, JJ was there, and I couldn't stop laughing! I couldn't do _anything _but sit there and laugh!" He shook his head and looked to Gordon. "He's running sir. He's gotten it into his head that what happened to Rick and me was his fault."

"Did he say where he might've been going?" Gordon asked.

Danny shook his head. "No, he just thanked us for what we'd done for him. I tried to call him back, get him to stay… He stopped. But all he said was 'David doesn't live here anymore Danny…JJ's back in town…"

A dead silence fell over the room. Jim Gordon looked up at the Batman worriedly. "Would he go back to the Joker? Can't beat 'em so you join 'em?"

Batman didn't answer, instead silently directing Jim's question to Robin with a slight tilt of his head.

Robin was already shaking his head vehemently. "No. He'd never go back to Joker and Harley if he could help it. All he ever wanted to do was go home!" He chewed his lip, then added quietly. "He might do it to protect someone, though."

Rick nodded grimly. "That's what I'm afraid of…"

* * *

Review this time fellas! I need those reviews to sustain me over Thanksgiving break!

Until next time...


	29. Tattle Tale!

Hey guys! I'm back from Thanksgiving break!

Shout out's to the awsomeness that is: Smokeydirtcat, AelitaOfTheWolves, Tessika14, Guest...Special shout out to Sheepdog20, who has gone through in a matter of days and commented on almost every. single. one. of the chapters...0.o...I got on my email sunday night and it was about ready to explode!

Thanks to all who reviewed, virtual batcookies to all of you! To the rest of you lurkers out there...SHAME!

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

JJ grinned.

He watched as the Gotham City S.W.A.T. officers swarmed over the expensive looking building, going through doors, windows, wherever. He had to give those guys credit, they sure knew how to seal off a building!

They were getting faster too, he noted with satisfaction.

They had sliced a good ten minutes off their response time, and if he was any judge they'd shaved several more seconds off of their entry time.

And they had good reason.

GCPD's dispatch had received an anonymous tip by phone about four minutes ago, stating that the Joker was pulling a job tonight at the Gotham City Central Bank. This was the sixteenth tipoff they'd had from this anonymous caller in the past two weeks, and his tips were always good.

So naturally they were being pretty quick to respond to his calls.

JJ pricked up his ears. It was hard to tell over the engines of the police cars outside, and the voices of the normal officers setting up a perimeter.

But he could hear yelling from inside the building, and gunshots.

The sound of squealing tires off to his left suddenly drew his attention and his head whipped around. Joker was making his escape in a nondescript blue sedan, with Harley at the wheel.

He grit his teeth at the sound of his father's laughter. "I forgot about the getaway car." He muttered.

Mini me chuckled. **_So? Have a look at Mr. G.I. Joe over there, just coming out of the building!_**

JJ returned his attention to the building. It took him a few minutes to locate the one Mini me was talking about.

The tall officer removed a helmet to reveal short, straw colored hair and hazel eyes. With his gun slung over his shoulder and his helmet under his arm he made his way over to Commissioner Gordon and presented him with a dully colored carpet bag. JJ grinned when the commissioner opened it, revealing a bag full of wadded up cash.

**_The cake might've run way. _**Mini me laughed. **_But we got the icing!_**

* * *

"Impossible!" Joker howled, kicking a stool across the room. The clatter it made when it hit the wall wasn't even close to satisfying enough. "How could they have known we were going to hit that bank?" he growled, pacing back and forth across the room like a caged animal. "That's the fifth job this week!"

Come on Puddin', it'll be ok." Harley soothed, trying to get her husband to stop pacing. "Our next job'll go over without a hitch, you'll see!"

Joker grudgingly allowed his lover to guide him to a seat. He didn't stay there long, getting back up within a couple minutes to pace the floor again.

"I don't understand it." He growled. "That's _sixteen _ jobs in a row the police have busted us mid heist..._Someone's_ squealing!" He rounded on Harley.

Harley quickly backpedalled. "Puddin'! You know I wouldn't do that!"

Joker growled but lowered his fist. No. Harley wouldn't. If she was angry with him, she'd belt him with that thrice blasted hammer of hers.

Someone else was tipping the cops to his doings.

And he intended to find out who!

* * *

JJ grinned, pulling his knees closer to his chest. "Pops must be going absolutely out of his _mind_ right about now trying to figure out who's tipping the cops!" he chortled gleefully.

**_He already _****was****_ out of his mind._** Mini me answered. **_Though from the amount of yelling and crashing that was going on when he got home, I bet he's slipping a little bit farther than he was before! _**Mini me laughed. **_The Joker, outwitted and driven mad by his own son! It's absolutely _****delicious****_! You were right, we did have a lot of fun with those gizmos!_**

JJ smiled.

He was hidden away in a small recess in the masonry of the building opposite his father's hideout, his own hideaway hidden by a series of small, ill tended shrubs. "Finally, something we _both_ agree on."

**_Oh, we agreed on other things!_**

JJ frowned and cocked his head. "Oh yeah? Like what? Because if I remember correctly, you usually have the ideas that most people would deem bad ideas."

**_I resent that remark!_** Mini me, exclaimed indignantly.

"You _resemble_ that remark!" JJ laughed quietly, pulling his sleeping bag up around his shoulders and cuddling into it for warmth.

He slipped a small device out of his coat pocket and held it up where he could see it.

Roughly three inches long and two inches wide, it was a small black box with an olive drab green screen on one end, various controls on the other. The screen displayed a grid system of grey lines, a green dot blinking off to one side to show where the tracking bleeper was in relation to the tracker.

Said bleeper was currently embedded in the sole of his father's shoe.

JJ had always been adept with mechanical and electrical apparatus, and he'd learned a good deal more while in Gotham. It had been a simple matter to take the different components his father kept for making bombs, and put them together to make something different. Like a tracking device for example!

The hard part had been locating and sneaking into his father's current hideout to _place _the tracer!

After that, all he had to do was follow the crook and phone it in!

"What did we agree on?" he asked, his eyes beginning to droop.

He flicked a switch, locking the tracer in place on the grid. If it moved more than two squares in any direction, which constituted two city blocks, a shrill alarm would go off.

He settled himself more comfortably in his nook, waiting for Mini me's reply.

**_We agreed that getting even with your old man would be marvelous amounts of fun!_**

* * *

"Any idea who it is, Batman?"

The dark knight silently eyed Commissioner Gordon, Officer Montoya behind him and to his left. After a long moment, he nodded.

"It's the Joker's son. Somehow he's keeping tabs on his father, and calling in his crimes through whatever phone is most readily available. I found his fingerprints on several of the payphones."

"But why?" Officer Montoya shook her head. "I don't get it sir. He's free of his father, of us, why hasn't he gone home? There's nothing to keep him here."

"Yes there is. As long as the Joker is loose, it would not be safe for him to return home. Joker would hear of it and either try to deal with JJ directly, or he might take action against the grandmother."

He fell silent again, knowing Robin wouldn't like his next statement.

"Father and son are a great deal more alike than either would care to admit. Joker Junior has an aversion to killing, but he's not above revenge." Batman's eyes narrowed. "And with Joker's history, his son doesn't have to look far to find something worth avenging."

Robin shivered. "So what do we do? Do we keep looking for JJ? Or do we concentrate on catching the Joker, and hope we find JJ along the way?"

"We go after the Joker." The commissioner stated firmly. "The Joker is the biggest threat to the general public, and that makes him our prime target. We'll catch JJ later when he either slips up or goes home."

He walked across the roof to put a hand on the boy wonder's shoulder. "I know he's a friend of yours Robin. And you have my word, my men and I will be doing everything in our power to bring him in safe."

Robin nodded. "Thank you sir. So will I…"

There was a soft beep, and Batman's hand flew to his belt, removing a flat square with a screen. He took a moment to read the text scrolling across the screen, then returned the device to his belt. "Not tonight." He said grimly. "We're going to be busy."

"Busy? Doing what?" Montoya questioned.

The door leading down into the police station suddenly burst open. "Commissioner! Commissioner Gordon! The Joker's kidnapped Mayor Hill's baby!"

Jim didn't look for the dynamic duo, knowing full well they'd already be gone. Instead, he settled his gaze on Montoya. "You were saying?"

Montoya's face was pale when she answered. "I'm sorry I asked…"

* * *

"Oh! He's so cute!" Harley squealed, giving Jordan Hill a finger to grip. The infant took it, cooing softly to himself and waving his other tiny fist in the air.

"Is not! And don't get attached to it Harley! He won't be staying with us for very long." Joker fussed, scratching Bud behind the ears.

A drop of water plopped onto the end of his nose and he made a face. In an attempt to forestall another botched job, they had gone to a backup hideout in the catacombs under Gotham instead of returning to the main hideout they'd been using.

He made a mental note to find better backup hideouts the first chance he got.

"Yes Mr. J." Harley answered, disappointed.

The smile soon returned to her face when she looked back at the baby. Jordan was still very young, barely two weeks old, and small. Wispy blonde peach fuzz stuck out from under the cap he was wearing, and his cheeks were rosy, forming a sharp contrast with his dark blue blanket.

The baby opened his eyes, and Harley was suddenly struck with a sense of déjà vu.

Pale blue eyes stared up into her own sky blue ones, but in her mind's eye they were a darker, deeper grey blue. She missed her son. She missed him terribly.

"Puddin'?"

Joker inwardly braced himself, knowing exactly what she was going to ask. "Yes Harley?" he asked, bending over the ransom letter he was writing and pretending to really focus on it.

"Have you heard anymore about JJ?" Harley asked hesitantly.

She knew father and son didn't always see eye to eye, but deep down inside, she was convinced that Joker still cared for his son.

Joker sighed, really playing up the concerned father bit. "No. They boys haven't heard so much as a kazoo hoot about Joker Junior since we stormed the safe house. The delinquent isn't on the street, and he hasn't gone home to that old harpy of a grandma." He returned to his note, hoping she'd drop it.

No such luck.

"Do you think the Batman got him?" Harley asked worriedly.

"I don't know…" Joker muttered.

"Do you think…?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Joker yelled, jumping to his feet. Enough was enough. "Now shut up and let me do my job!"

Harley meekly bowed her head, cradling Jordan close. "A-ok Mr. J…"

* * *

"All set?" JJ asked, carefully resettling his hat, and making sure his hair was tucked up inside.

**_You're nuts you know that? This'll never work, it's absolutely insane!_** Mini me fussed.

JJ chuckled, straightening his bow tie. "Wow. You _think_ you're crazy when you start hearing voices in your head and have conversations with them. You _know_ you're nuts when the imaginary voice in your head _agrees_ that you're crazy! And yes it will work by the way. Just walk in dressed as Pops, do what we need to do, and get out. Easy as that."

**_Oh really? Exactly what part of this plan screams foolproof!_**

"Oh, _now _you want foolproof? Whose idea was it to take my body for a joyride last week?" JJ wanted to know.

He scowled and shrugged his backpack onto his shoulders again, clipping the belt across his chest. "I'm still mad at you for that! Taking me out for a sleep walk was bad enough, but putting superglue on the seat of a cop car?"

**_Hey! How was I supposed to know his partner would chase us three blocks?_** Mini me argued. **_And besides, he wasn't that big! We got away fine!_**

"Yeah, after I lost a good chunk of my sleeve and climbed a fire escape!" JJ answered. He crept to the alley opening and peered out, making sure they were alone. "And whose eyes where you looking through? That police dog was huge!"

He looked up and down the street. "All clear-_crap_!"

The young clown quickly ducked back into the alley, starring across the street as a familiar black car slowed to a stop by the curb.

Two figures emerged and hurried into the building that housed the entrance to his father's underground hideout.

He waited for a long minute, then quietly slipped out of the alley.

**_Oh, for the sake of cream pudding pie, can't you leave well enough alone just this once? _**Mini me pleaded. **_The blasted Bat and his little brat are already in there, they'll give your father the wedgie he deserves!_**

"Relax." JJ muttered, skirting the building and heading for the back. "A moment this good deserves to be caught on film. I'm just going to watch…"

**_Why, do I not believe you?..."_**

* * *

Review! Lots of reviews make a happy author!

Untill next time...


	30. Into The Crypts

Hi guys! Sorry for the slow update. My mother and I had the Lasek eye surgery this past friday, and have been in recovery mode. Unlike my mother, I've been having a ruff time of it, as everyone reacts to the procedure differently. As my eyes continue to improve, I will update more often.

That being said, shout outs go to: AelitaOfTheWolves, Smokeydirtcat, and Guest! Amazing individuals all around! Free virtual batcookies! Chocolate chip this time!

* * *

Robin crept along the dark tunnels at the Batman's side, wrinkling his nose at the fetid smell of the musty old tunnel. Joker certainly must be getting desperate if he was hiding out in _this_ section of the old crypts. One of Gotham's sewers emptied into it here!

Something bumped into his ankle and he froze.

His eyes darted down to where the sewer water washed around his shins. Black button eyes glared up at him, accompanied by an indignant squeak.

Batman glanced back, a small smile tugging at his lips.

He paused for a moment, watching his protégé slowly lift his foot out of the massive rat's way. The vermin gave one last squeak and swam off, tail flicking languidly behind it.

Robin came up beside him, and the dark knight cocked his head. "Problem?"

Robin snorted. "And people say _New York_ rats are big and bold!" he hissed quietly. "I'd _dearly_ love to hear what they'd say if they could see a Gotham city sewer rat!"

The dark knight nodded.

He'd been astounded the first time he'd seen some of the rats Gotham city produced, and had often thought the self same thing! The ones on the surface were about normal size, but get down in the crypts and sewers and even the canine rat catchers didn't want to mess with them!

Laughter rang down the tunnel ahead of them as the dynamic duo stepped up out of the sewer water and onto dry ground.

Joker wasn't too far away.

Signaling Robin to remain absolutely silent, Batman crept forward. He felt rather than heard Robin behind him as he moved. Robin had more than learned his lessons when it came to stealth. The boy was almost as good as the he was, and Batman had no doubt that Robin would someday surpass him.

The dark knight pushed his musing thoughts to one side, gazing through the white lenses of his cowl at the scene before him.

The tunnel they had come through opened up a couple feet ahead of them, emptying out into a sort of stone rotunda. Several tunnels opened up in the wall opposite them, leading away into the darkness and providing several avenues of escape for the rotunda's new tenants.

It was here that the joker had chosen to set up his new lair.

Various ratty pieces of furniture had been set up around the junk littered space. Given Harley's tidy tendencies, it surprised the duo that she would let this particular hideout get this cluttered.

Harley was at the table.

Judging from the bundle of soiled clothing, the wailing of the baby, and the smell wafting their way over the sewer stench, she appeared to be cleaning up a rather spectacular accident on Jordan's part!

Joker was sitting in a ratty, overstuffed armchair, a T.V. tray pulled up in his lap.

He appeared to be furiously trying to write something. His face was beginning to furrow with anger. The heroes weren't sure how long Jordan had been crying, but it didn't look like Joker would be able to take much more of it.

Harley finished cleaning the wailing infant and wrapped his tiny, nude body in a new sky blue blanket.

She gently laid him in a nearby cardboard box, cooing at him in an effort to quiet him, before returning to the table and dumping his soiled clothes and blanket in a bag. She neatly tied it off and negligently tossed it aside, throwing the used diaper in a nearby garbage can.

"Finished!" Joker leapt to his feet, brandishing the paper. "Harley! I need you to run this over to our dear friend Mayor Hill! I'm sure he's just _dying_ to hear from us!"

Harley cast one last longing glance at Jordan before assuming her beaming smile and trotting over to him. "A-OK Mr. J!" She took the folded letter and was heading for one of the tunnels when Joker called her name again.

"Oh, and Harley?"

She stopped, cocking her head at him. "Yeah puddin'?"

Joker grinned. "Be _creative _when you give it to him."

Harley gave a happy squeak and darted away into the tunnels. Joker shook his head and returned to his seat, pointedly trying to ignore the wailing infant not more than fifteen feet away.

Whining and yipping quietly to themselves, the hyenas came to lay at his feet, flattening their ears against the baby's hi-pitched shrieks.

Batman's eyes narrowed, the incredible mind behind the mask analyzing the situation. After a long minute, his hand sought out Robin's in the darkness of the tunnel.

Robin raised his eyebrows in surprise at the feel of his mentors hand clasping his own. Said hand quickly resettled itself on his wrist and understanding dawned as the boy wonder felt his mentor tap his finger against the more sensitive skin of his inner wrist.

A small smile lit the boy wonders face as he decoded the taps and holds of the Batman's finger into morse code, and from there into the corresponding message.

_Get Harley and call police _

Robin squeezed his mentors wrist, letting him know he'd understood the message before slipping through the shadows along the edge of the rotunda and darting down the same tunnel Harley had taken.

Batman remained where he was, silently eyeing the situation.

It was perfectly within his capabilities to take down the hyenas and jump the Joker. But if anything went wrong… If he miscalculated, or if Joker managed to evade his grasp it would put Jordan at an incredible risk!

That settled it.

He silently slipped into the shadows edging the rotunda and crept around the edge of it. Jordan was his priority. If the Joker got away, so be it. He would catch the maniac another day.

One of the hyenas snuffled loudly and Batman froze. After a long minute, the animal flopped over against his brother, head lolling lazily to one side.

The caped crusader began moving again.

The hyena's were the biggest threat now. If they sounded the alarm before he got close enough to Jordan, it could make his life very difficult, and Jordan's life very dangerous.

It took a good five minutes before he reached the other side of the rotunda. Jordan never once ceased his pitiful wailing.

Batman took a deep breath and stepped into the light.

The soles of his shoes barely made a whisper on the cobblestone floor as he crept toward the cardboard box and it's noisy contents.

It was only when he found himself peering in at the crying baby that he realized a new difficulty.

How to get Jordan to quiet down so Joker wouldn't notice when Batman carried him out? His costume wasn't exactly the most child friendly of outfits!

It was _designed_ to scare people after all!

Keeping his eyes fixed on the drowsy Joker and the hyenas at his feet, the caped crusader gently picked up the squalling baby.

He cast a silent simultaneous prayer of thanks and a curse at the world at large, grateful that Dick had been past this stage when he came to live with Bruce, but wishing he _had_ come younger so that Batman would know what to do now!

He cradled the baby against his shoulder, bouncing him the way he'd seen several young mothers do.

Jordan merely waved his tiny fists in the air and cried all the harder.

Across the room, Joker irritably stirred in his arm chair. He'd almost managed to drift off when the brat got a bee up his bonnet. If the little tyke didn't shut up soon, he was going to go over there and duct tape his mouth shut!

Ok, the bouncing didn't work.

Batman ceased jostling the babe and tried patting Jordan's back, nuzzling the bare skin of his face against the baby's temple. That got more of a result. He redoubled his efforts, tensing every time one of those hyenas stirred.

A thought suddenly occurred to the dark knight.

Catching the forefinger of his right glove in his mouth, he hurriedly pulled it off and tucked it in his belt. Praying Jordan hadn't started teething yet, he slipped his pointer finger into the baby's mouth in lieu of a pacifier.

Jordan gave a startled little hiccup, fussing a little at the suddenness of it all, but immediately began to quiet down. Joker and Batman both heaved quiet sighs of relief, not daring to do anything louder and run the risk of setting Jordan off again.

"Finally." Joker muttered.

**_My sentiments exactly._** Batman thought, silently backing away towards the shadows.

He hadn't gone more than a couple steps when the hyenas noses shot up into the air, heads swiveling and ears pricking forward to catch the Batman in their gaze.

The two were on their feet in a millisecond, yipping and laughing to draw their masters attention.

Batman didn't waste any more time. Throwing caution to the winds, the dark knight turned and bolted down one of the tunnels, not particularly caring which one he took.

He could hear the Joker yelling and screaming angrily back in the rotunda. Much closer behind him, he could hear the panting and laughter of the hyenas, their blunt nails clicking against the cobblestone floor of the crypt.

An old wooden door was flung open ahead of him, releasing a group of ten massive thugs into the tunnel. One of them spotted him and yelled, raising the alarm.

Sliding several feet on the damp cobblestones before coming to a halt, the dark knight turned and bolted down a dark side passage. Glancing back, he was gratified to see Bud and Lou skidding out of control as they tried to slow down, knocking over the Joker's thugs like bowling pins_._

The tunnel suddenly bottlenecked, forcing the dark knight to turn sideways and shuffle through.

His cape suddenly tightened around his hips and waist, stopping him dead in his tracks. Batman glared down at the black material, trying to get it un-snagged.

His cape was a great tool in a fight, making the enemy misjudge the actual location of his body and thus shoot the cape, but it was times like these that he seriously considered a new costume design!

The snarling cackle of the hyenas nearby informed him that he'd just run out of time.

He flung himself forward and out of the bottleneck, the loud ripping sound music to his ears as he bolted down the passage at top speed once again.

Jordan was beginning to fuss again, and given the circumstances Batman couldn't blame him!

He suddenly slid to a halt, a growl of frustration rumbling in his throat. The tunnel ahead of him had caved in! A massive pile of rubble sloped down from the ceiling to the floor, ending no more than a few feet from the toes of his boots.

A hole in the ceiling caught his eye, probably caused by the cave in. He could see sky, and the buildings of Gotham through it! His hand instinctively brushed aside his cape to get at his belt and the grappling hook that would get him and Jordan out of here, only to brush against empty air.

He whipped around to stare back down the passage.

His belt must've been caught along with his cape! When he'd torn free, the belt must have broken free as well!

He debated going back for it, but the excited yells of the thugs as they discovered his belt and the torn part of his cape quickly put an end to that idea.

If he didn't have Jordan it would be another story…

He backed away from the tunnel, moving closer to the rock pile. He knew from experience that he had the advantage on uneven ground, and the Batman intended to use it.

He resettled Jordan in his left arm and brought the fabric of what cape remained forward to cover the infant, offering what little protection he could.

This wasn't going to end well…

"Batman?"

The dark knight's head snapped up.

Gazing down at him through the hole in the ceiling was none of than JJ, the son of the joker!

The boy had his head hanging down through the hole, irritably brushing his hair back again and again as it continuously fell forward into his eyes.

The caped crusader made a split second decision. "JJ." He growled, stepping forward and down off the rock pile to position himself under the hole. "Take Jordan."

Blue gray eyes widened in surprise as they watched the Batman hold up the baby to him, but after a moment JJ nodded. Laying down on his stomach, the teen scooted forward until his upper body was hanging through the hole, his arms reaching for the blue swaddled bundle.

Jordan was crying in earnest now, kicking and squirming as he was lifted up. The blanket had fallen away and he was cold and hungry.

He had every right to be upset.

"I…I can't quite reach!" JJ panted, his fingers just brushing Jordan's blanket. They could both hear boots thudding in the passageway.

Time was running out!

"Catch!" The dark knight ordered. He suddenly leapt up, shoving the screaming newborn into a startled JJ's hands.

The young clown scrambled to grab him, only just barely managing it!

"Got him?" Batman asked from below. JJ nodded, cradling Jordan to his chest. "Good. Stay near the building that houses the entrance to this place. I sent Robin after your mother and to get the police. He should return soon."

JJ nodded again, carefully easing himself and his new charge back up and out of the hole. "Got it. But what about you?"

Batman had already turned to face the tunnel as the hyenas came barreling excitedly out of it. "Go!" He dropped into a fighting stance, bracing himself for their onslaught.

But it never came.

"Bud! Lou! Back off!" JJ yelled from his spot above the action.

The two hyenas did a cartoon skid stop, staring around in confusion in an effort to figure out where their young master was.

"Go back to Pops boys!" JJ called again. Reluctantly, the hyenas obeyed.

"Thanks." Batman growled, his eyes never leaving the passage in front of him.

"You're welcome." JJ answered grimly, watching as his father's henchmen poured into the room. "Unfortunately these guys aren't as well trained as the hyenas. Good luck Batman." He turned and darted away from the hole, lost to the Batman's sight.

Praying that he had made the right decision, Batman glared at the incoming thugs.

There were more of them than had originally piled through that doorway. His eyes narrowed even further when he spotted one of them wearing his utility belt around his chest like a bandolier.

Oook, now it was personal…!

* * *

**_See? See? SEE? I told you! I told you we should've left well enough alone and just let the Bat do our work for us!_**

JJ rolled his eyes, wrapping Jordan more snugly in the blanket. **_Now, now, let's not be lazy._** He thought back at Mini me.

**_What's wrong with lazy?_** Mini me wanted to know. **_Look what being industrious did for us! We're out on the street and saddled with the mayors bouncing baby _****brat****_!_**

"He's not a brat, he's just having a _really_ bad day." JJ answered. Mini me snorted. "No really." JJ answered aloud. "You'd be a little cranky too if _my_ parents kidnapped _you_! He's tired, and probably hungry to."

**_Great. So there's absolutely _****no****_ chance of him shutting up anytime soon, is there?_**

**_Not much. _**JJ admitted.

He laid the baby on the cement, shedding his backpack and digging into it. They were on the roof of one of the buildings opposite his father's hideout, waiting for the police to show.

**_What are you doing with that hammock?_** Mini me wanted to know.

The heir to the clown prince of crime ignored him, tying his hammock to the legs of the buildings water tower. He tested it to make sure it would stay, then grabbed his sleeping bag and the baby.

Unfurling the camping gear, he wrapped himself and Jordan in it and climbed up into the hammock.

**_I _****said,****_ what are you doing? _**Mini me yelled.

"Trying to get him to calm down." JJ answered.

He flipped one leg over the side of the hammock, starting the net swinging. "Let's see if Rick and Danny's gift can help us out." He cuddled Jordan close, quietly cooing to him in an effort to sooth him.

**_You kidding? That kid was crying when your parents brought him home, and he's been crying ever since! That kid's like Captain Ahab! Always wailing! He'll never stop!_**

As if to prove Mini me wrong, Jordan began to quiet.

Gurgling softly to himself, he curled closer to his teenage protector, his eyelids beginning to droop. Within a few minutes the exhausted infant was sound asleep.

JJ grinned. **_You were saying? I think your Captain Ahab just became Rip Van Winkle._**

**_Jerk…_**Mini me grumbled.

* * *

"Batman!"

Robin darted down the tunnels, frantically searching for his mentor. He could hear the G.C.P.D. in the tunnels behind him, calling to each other as they searched the crypt for the Joker and his men.

"Batman!"

The yip of the hyenas drew his attention to a small side passage. The boy wonder slowed. Drawing a small pen light from his belt, he cautiously made his way down the tunnel.

He'd had to many run ins with these particular hyenas, often in the dark.

Two sets of eyes suddenly gleamed green in the beam of his flashlight, making the boy wonder backpedal in fright.

The hyenas blinked, squirming at the sudden ray of light in their eyes, but they didn't come any closer.

Robin suddenly grinned.

The passage ahead of him narrowed into a bottleneck, and from the looks of things, Bud and Lou had tried to go through it at the exact same time!

The two hyenas were wedged in tight, shoulder to shoulder in the confined space.

"Robin."

"Batman!"

Cackling, Robin cart wheeled across the broad shoulders and sloping backs of the hyenas, his slender frame having no difficulty in the narrow passage.

The hyenas yipped irritably at him, not in the least bit amused by his use of their backs as a spring board.

Robin ignored them, running down the passage. He found his mentor at the end of it, clipping a pair of bat cuffs on the last of the fifteen downed thugs.

Completely ignoring the usual Batman and Robin protocol, the twelve year old darted forward to give his mentor a quick hug, separating before the police could see the rare display of affection.

The hyenas started yipping angrily, startling one of the Gotham City police officers that had been following Robin, and making him dance back several steps.

The officer swore explosively. "I hate those things! Creepiest animals on the face of the planet!"

His partner laughed, peering over the hyenas with his flashlight. He could clearly see the dynamic duo and their prisoners on the other side. "Yeah, I have to agree with you on that one. Call the paddy wagon, we got a group to go. And give the zoo a call. Tell them they can have their hyenas back."

They other cop snorted, grabbing his radio. "Yeah, at least until Joker wants his dogs back. Then the hyena exhibit will go on hiatus again!"

He clicked a button on his radio. "Yeah, dispatch this is Riley. We need Gotham Zoo or animal control to come make a pick up. We've got Joker and Harley's hyenas…"

Robin felt a large, heavy hand come to rest on his shoulder. He glanced back at his mentor curiously.

Batman gave a slight nod toward the hole in the ceiling. "Find JJ." He ordered quietly. "He has Jordan."

Robin nodded, already pulling a grappling hook from his belt. "Got it. He won't have gone far. What about you?"

The dark knight's eyes narrowed, and he turned toward the passageway. "The Joker and I have unfinished business."

* * *

And there it is! Yeah, that's enough typing for one night. Going to go to bed now and sleep for the next nine hours!

Review! Many writer reviews make happy readers...or is it the other way around...?

Until next time...


	31. Returned

HEY GUYS! Guess who's back from the doctor with vision officially 20/20? LOL, saw her saturday, came home and hit the computer with a vengeance and my dog with a serious bath! I'll have to go back to see her in a month, and have to put a drop of steroids in each eye today, but other than that I've got a clean bill of health! Thank you guys for your patience!

Shout outs to: Smokeydirtcat, and Guest. You two officialy get a coupon for one of Alfred's home cooked meals at Wayne manor. The rest of you are ofically missing out!

* * *

JJ shifted, pulling a white plastic bottle out of his clothing.

Jordan whimpered softly, bleary blue eyes blinking open.

**_You woke the little horror up! _**Mini me exclaimed angrily, not looking forward to the screaming he was certain Jordan would soon produce.

JJ ignored him, pulling a handkerchief from an inner pocket of his purple suit coat. Quickly unscrewing the cap, he crammed a corner of the cloth into the bottle and tilted it, making sure the liquid soaked up into it.

**_What do you think you're doing?_**

JJ pulled the handkerchief back out of the bottle and pressed the damp section to the infants mouth. "Feeding him. I hope."

**_Where the heck did you get milk?_**

JJ chuckled. "Picked it up yesterday at the mission remember? The beeper went off and we had to run and tattle tale on Pops, so I never got to drink it. Good thing to, this little guy's _gotta_ be starving!"

**_Why didn't you stuff his trap earlier when he wouldn't shut up!_**

"Because it wouldn't 'ave been warm! My body's not a microwave you know!" JJ hissed angrily. He dabbed it at the baby's lips again. "As it is, it's colder than it should be….Come on Jordan, I know it's not quite what you're used to…"

The infant finally cottoned on to the fact that the lukewarm damp cloth being pressed against his lips was an exceptionally clumsy attempt at a feeding. He latched on to the handkerchief, suckling hard for every drop.

He gave an angry cry when the clown pulled the cloth away, but quieted again immediately when it was returned a few moments later completely sopping.

JJ heaved a relieved sigh and leaned back in his hammock, swinging one leg back and forth to rock his makeshift bed.

He pulled the sleeping bag farther up, settling it more firmly around his shoulders. His father's purple suit might look good, but there was a reason the Joker wore a trench coat over it during the colder months!

Mini me's voice was stunned. **_I can't believe that actually works…_**

"I'm a little surprised myself." JJ admitted. "But I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Or a gift baby as the case may be…"

* * *

Robin shook his head, taking a headlong leap from one rooftop to another, somersaulting onto his feet on the other side.

It'd been an hour and a half since Batman had handed Jordan up to JJ through the hole in the ceiling. Robin had been searching for half an hour.

Still no sign of the clown or the mayors son.

The wind shifted, carrying a warm tenor voice to the boy wonders ears and drawing him to the other end of the roof. He made his way towards it.

The roof jumped up a level on that end, the one closer to the street. He peered over the edge, and a smile lit his face at the absolutely adorable sight that met his eyes.

The son of the _Joker_ was doing his dead level best to feed a newborn!

The clown prince of crime was currently sitting in a homemade hammock with the two week old cradled in his arms, carefully dipping a white handkerchief in and out of a small milk bottle and giving it to the baby to suck on.

And he was singing!

JJ was softly singing some sort of lullaby to the infant as he rocked the hammock slowly back and forth.

Robin grinned and crept up and over the edge, slipping silently across the roof toward the water tower.

"…may you find the joy of dreams come true. And on your way, may life be good to you." JJ sang softly.

He capped the milk bottle and tucked it into a pocket with the handkerchief. A laugh rang out from to one side and he whipped around, a knife somehow finding its way into his hand.

The boy wonder stepped out of the shadows grinning from ear to ear at his friend.

JJ blew out a sigh of relief and stowed the knife back in his pocket. "I'm beginning to understand why you and the Bat annoy my father so much."

"Meh, perks of the job." Robin answered, hooking a finger in Jordan's blankets and pulled them away from the baby's face. "Aww… Don't get me wrong, Mayor Hill's a good man and all but…how'd he manage to have such a cute kid?"

"Have you seen his wife?" JJ answered. He passed Jordan to Robin and scrambled out of the hammock, quickly folding it up and stowing it away in his backpack. "Jordan _definitely _takes after his mom."

Robin chuckled. "Definitely." He waited patiently for the clown to roll up his sleeping bag, absentmindedly rocking the baby.

Unlike Batman, Robin liked kids.

As they walked toward the fire escape JJ had used to get up there, Robin cocked an eyebrow at him. "So…what's with the new duds?" he asked, eyeing JJ's purple suit.

"Huh?" JJ stopped in the midst of taking the baby back and looked down at his clothes. "Oh." He flushed. "Camouflage. I planted a tracker in the sole of Pop's shoe. The battery ran out today. When it comes to henchmen, Pops doesn't exactly pick the piñata with the most candy if you know what I mean, so I figured this getup would get me past the guards as long as they didn't look to close. And Bud and Lou won't bother me. The only trouble would be if I ran into Mother, or Pops himself."

"Did it work?" Robin asked, sliding down the ladder ahead of the clown and reaching back for the baby.

JJ passed Jordan down and mimicked Robins move, going down a level further and reaching back up to take the baby and leave Robin with his hands free to climb.

"Never got a chance to find out. You and Batman showed up before I could try it. I was looking for another way in when I ran into Batman and he passed me Jordan. After that I high tailed it to the roof tops. Figured you or Bats would have an easier time finding me up there."

Robin laughed. "Yep that would've been nice, but seeing as how you generally don't hang out on roof tops, I've been searching the streets and alley ways for you! I appreciate the effort though!"

They reached the ground, JJ ending up with the baby. "Where to?"

Robin pointed. "The Gotham P.D. is that way. As the Robin flies, it's about a twenty minute trip from here."

JJ grinned. "And as the clown walks?"

Robin blanched. "An hour, hour and a half. No way am I walking that far. There's a el-train station two blocks over. And the next train's due to pass in…" he pulled the cuff of his glove forward to reveal a wristwatch. "..fifteen minutes. We can just make it."

"K. Hold Jordan for a sec." JJ passed Jordan to the boy wonder and slid his backpack off.

Dropping it on the ground, he flipped it open and quickly rearranged the contents. He'd eaten most of the food by this point, so most of it was clothes and some equipment from the Joker's hideout.

"There. Pass him here."

The boy wonder passed Jordan to him, and the clown carefully settled him in the snug hollow he'd created, packing the baby in with clothes to make sure he didn't slide down or tip over and suffocate. He closed the flap, leaving it unlatched, and gingerly slid his arms into the straps and buckled the pack in place.

"It'll be warmer in there." He explained, in answer to Robin's curious expression. "That and I want to have my hands free if we're going subway surfing."

"Robin grinned. "Sort of…"

* * *

"I want answers Gordon! Not excuses! Where's my son?!"

Commissioner Jim Gordon tiredly rubbed his eyes and turned to face Mayor Hill and his wife. He could understand Hills fear and anger, he really could. He was a father himself, having a daughter of his own.

But that didn't make putting up with the man in his police station any easier!

"Mayor Hill, my men and I are doing the best we can to find your son. Now I'm asking you, _please _trust us to do our jobs." He stated.

Hill shook his head. "You and your men moved on the Joker's hideout nearly _two hours_ ago, and still there's been no word! Did you find Jordan or not? Did those maniacs get away with him? Is he…? He trailed off, covering his face with his hands at the unspoken thought.

Tears in her eyes, Hills wife Anne moved closer to his side, clinging to his arm.

Born of a good family, the young socialite had always been considered quite fetching, and her fear and grief for her newborn son did little to change that. Small and petite, the top of her gold haired head barely reached her husband's shoulder, giving her a delicate, fragile look. Bright brown eyes gazed up out of a small pixyish face.

As her eyes and Hills were both brown, the couple had decided that Jordan got his blue eyes from Hills side of the family, as his father had had them.

"Reginald." Anne said softly, gaining her husband's immediate attention. Anne was a quiet soul and rarely said a word, so when she did speak, her husband took notice. "I want our Jordan back just as much as you do, but badgering Jim won't get our boy back any faster. Let him do his job. I'm sure he's doing the best he can."

Reginald Hill opened his mouth, clearly wanting to argue with her, but he closed it again after a moment. He knew she was right.

Grudgingly, he turned to the Commissioner. "Sorry Jim." He muttered. "I just…"

Commissioner Gordon nodded. "I know. If my Barbara went missing, I'd probably be doing the exact same thing you are."

He smiled sadly and put a hand on the Mayors shoulder. "Joker's hideout was in the crypts of Gotham. The crypts are huge, it'll take my men some time to search them all. Thanks to the Batman, we have several of the Joker's men in custody. We're questioning them now."

Mayor Hill snorted rudely. "Batman." He muttered. "If that vigilante hadn't gone in ahead of the cities officers, the Joker would've still been there and I'd have my son _back_ by now!"

Commissioner Gordon frowned, dearly wanting to argue the point, but he made no comment.

Hill had never liked or cared for the idea of masked vigilantes, especially one so mysterious and foreboding as Gotham's dark knight.

If the Batman had been a bit more…approachable, like Metropolis's Superman, Gordon would've bet his badge that the mayor would have felt differently!

One of the newest recruits of the Gotham City Police force raced into the room, panting and out of breath. "Commissioner! Robin's in the front room!"

Gordon was out of his chair in an instant. "What?" he exclaimed.

The dynamic duo didn't enter the police station's first floor. And they _never_ used doors! Could this be an imposter? Was Robin hurt?

A horrible thought crossed Jim's mind. **_Did something happen to Batman?_**

"He's brought the Joker in with him…" The rookie panted, brushing her blonde and caramel bangs back.

Hill exploded out of his seat, shoving past the young woman and out into the hall.

Gordon quickly moved to catch the woman before she could fall. "You alright Haven?"

Officer Sara Haven nodded. "Yes sir. You'd better go after the Mayor!"

Gordon nodded and raced down the hall after Hill's retreating form. Unless he was mistaken, Joker was about to feel the wrath of a _very_ angry father!

* * *

JJ shook his head, his blue gray eyes darting around the crowded main room, watching the various cops and reporters. "You certainly like to make an entrance." He muttered, slipping his gloved hands into his pockets.

The discovery of a pair of gloves in the pocket of his father's suit coat had been one of the _only_ perks of this wardrobe change!

Robin chuckled. "Yeah. I guess we do. I just make mine a bit more flamboyant than Batman's." He craned his neck, looking for Commissioner Gordon.

"Why _did_ we come in this way? Don't you usually use a window or something?" JJ asked curiously, keeping his voice low so the various nosy reporters would overhear.

Both cops and reporters were keeping their distance for now, something he would've bet money on had to do with his current attire. But as he continued to exhibit completely un-joker-like behavior, they were slowly regaining their courage.

He was just glad Robin's device had shorted out their cameras! Otherwise the two teens would probably have gone blind by now from all the camera flashes!

Robin smiled.

In order to keep people from panicking, he'd kept his hand on JJ's elbow. He gave his friends arm a reassuring squeeze. "Helping dispel some of _your_ bad reputation." He answered. "You're not a bad person JJ. It's time more of Gotham knew that."

"You sick demented freak! What have you done with my son?!"

That angry shout was all the warning either teen had before Mayor Hill came tearing out of the crowd and headed straight for JJ!

The man grabbed JJ by the front of his coat and lifted him up till his feet dangled in the air.

"Where's my son you maniac?" he bellowed, shaking the young clown. "Where's Jordan?!"

JJ brought a foot up and planted it in the center of the Mayor's chest, pushing off and hand springing away from his opponent, and losing his hat in the process.

"I'd tell you if you'd give me half a chance!" he yelled.

Hill went at him again, completely ignoring JJ's words. He hadn't gone more than a couple steps before he found himself stopped dead in his tracks.

He stared down at the young teen in front of him. The boy was barely half his size, yet he was holding the much larger man at bay by his wrists, staring him down.

"Mayor Hill." Robin growled, panting with the effort of holding the man back. "He's not your enemy! _Look_ at him sir! Look past the suit! He's _not_ the Joker!"

His arms were beginning to tremble, and he pressed back on the mayors clenched hands, bowing the man's wrists out just enough to cause him discomfort and make him back off a little.

Hill had the advantage in strength and size, but even his rage befuddled mind responded to pressure points.

The fury on Hill's face began to fade a little. He looked past the boy wonder at the older teen. The suit was right, but the boy wonder was telling the truth. With the hat gone he could see the hair was long and highlighted with blonde. And he might've been wrong, but he could've sworn the Joker's eyes weren't a rich blue gray.

He finally stopped fighting the boy, bowing his head.

"Mayor Hill, he isn't the man who took _your _son." Robin said gently. He motioned to JJ, silently calling him forward. "He's _his_ son."

JJ approached cautiously, watching as Hill's eyes focused on him and followed his every move. Slipping his backpack off, he placed it in Robin's arms and lifted the flap. "Sir. I believe this little one belongs to you."

Reginald Hill's eyes widened as he watched JJ gently lift a blonde haired baby wrapped in a blue blanket out of his backpack.

The young clown offered the baby to him, and he watched as his arms reached out seemingly of their own accord to take the child.

He felt Anne come up beside him, saw her reaching out to caress her baby's face. Jordan burbled quietly to himself. Opening his eyes, he laughed, giving off a happy squeal as he came to recognize the feel of his father's arms and the touch of his mother's hand. Recognizing that he was back where he belonged.

That he was safe.

"I fed him about a half an hour ago." JJ said, drawing the parents attention. He shrugged, embarrassed. "It wasn't much, just some cow's milk from a bottle, I had to make do with what I had. It was just enough to take the edge off, so he'll be needing to be fed again soon."

He bowed his head for a moment, before meeting their eyes again. "Take your family home sir. You've all been through enough for one night… I'm sorry for the trouble the less trustworthy members of my family have caused you. Please believe me sir….We're not all like them."

* * *

I can't for the life of me remember ever hearing anyone mention the first names of either Mayor Hill or his wife, heck you never hear her even mentioned, much less see her! So I improvised. If anyone knows anything, give me a holler and I'll change it!

REVIEW PLEASE! I be starvin' for some reader interaction!

Until next time...


	32. Trouble

Hey guys, sorry for the long wait! I've officially finished typing up the story, and am in the process of getting the darn thing beta'd by my family. They are by far my biggest supporters and best critics. There'll be one or two more chapters and an eqilouge.

Shout outs to the awsomeness that is: Teenagejustice, Smokeydirtcat (who has changed her profile pic again I see), OpalFaye, and Guest! You guys are amazing and keep me writing!

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

"So, what do you think of Mayor Hill?" Robin asked, grinning. He was hanging by his knees from an antenna on top of the police station.

JJ shook his head, adjusting the buckles on his backpack. "I know we agreed that Jordan got his looks from his mother, but he _definitely_ got his lungs from his father! I've _never_ met a man who was more long winded!"

"Then clearly you've never met my science teacher." Robin answered.

The two boys starred at each other for a long moment, then burst into laughter.

"Clearly." JJ chuckled. "No wonder you and Batman stick to the shadows! I appreciate Hill's gratitude and all, but ten minutes into his thank you speech and _I _wanted to hold Jordan for ransom just to get it to end!"

Still laughing Robin reached up, or rather down since he was still upside down, to his ear to touch his com link.

"Robin here, go ahead Batman. Did you find the Joker?"

_"No."_ The Dark knight answered grimly from his end. _"I just got back to the Bat mobile... Just in time to hear about your escapades over the radio."_

Robin grimaced, finger combing his hand through his coal black hair. "I'm busted aren't I?"

_"I think it's safe to say so." _Batman answered. Robin could hear the rumble of the Bat Mobile's engines in the background. Batman would be using the tracker in Robin's belt to find him. It wouldn't take him long.

He sighed, unhooking one leg from the antenna and letting it hang free to stretch out the tendons. "I just did what I thought was right. You didn't leave any instructions for what to do after a I found JJ. All you told me to do was find him."

It was the dark knights turn to sigh. _"You need to think Robin. You and JJ just made a very public gesture, showing the world that the Son of the Joker is not the man his father is. Joker has already demonstrated that he is more than willing to maim and kill to keep that knowledge a secret. What happens when the Joker learns that that's now public information?" _

Robin's mouth went dry as he realized the can of worms he'd opened up.

Over the com link, his mentor continued. _"He can't do anything to JJ, he doesn't know where his son is. And Harley isn't there to be his punching bag or talk him down. So who does that leave?" _

"Leosanni." Robin croaked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw JJ stiffen, all his attention now completely focused on the boy wonder. "Should I talk to Commissioner Gordon? He could call and ask the authorities there take her into protective custody…"

_That won't work for long." _Batman answered. The clicking of keys in the background told Robin his mentor was probably already doing the research on the local Nazlini authorities through the bat mobile's computer. _"Talk to Gordon, have him set things up with the Nazlini authorities. They'll have to do until we can come up with something better. I'll be there as soon as I can."_

Robin nodded, even though he knew the Batman wouldn't see it. "Yes sir. Robin out."

Reaching up to grab the antenna he was dangling from, the acrobat unhooked his knee, allowing his body to swing down and his toes to brush against the ground. He let go and grimly headed for the fire escape that led down to Commissioner Gordon's office.

"He's going after Mamaw, isn't he?"

"Batman thinks he will, and personally I agree with him." Robin stopped at the edge, turning to grip his friends shoulder reassuringly as he came to stand beside him. "We won't let him hurt her JJ. We'll get there first."

JJ nodded, not meeting his friends eyes. "I know you'll try." He answered. "And that's all I can ask."

Robin bit his lip, feeling guilty. After all, it was his bright idea to make the return of Jordan so public. "JJ, I…"

"Damon." The clown answered flatly.

Robin stopped, frowning. "What?"

Blue grey eyes met white lenses. "Damon." The clown said again. "My name is Damon. Damon Cliffrunner, after my grandmother's family."

He gave a small, sad smile at the stunned look on his friends face. "You've helped me more than you know Robin, and you've saved my life on more than one occasion. I think you've more than earned the right to know."

Robin beamed, delighted. A frown of confusion soon took it's place however. "Saved you more than once? The only time I save you was when I helped you across the tightrope!"

JJ shook his head. "You were the one who picked the lock in the warehouse fire. You were the one who convinced me to move away from the bomb. And it was you who dug me out of the burning wreckage and helped me across the tight wire."

He crouched on the side of the building, looking down over the edge. "All those times you saved your enemy, the son of the Joker. And once you saved the life of Damon Cliffrunner. This isn't my first trip to Gotham you know."

Seeming to feel embarrassed, the clown quickly climbed down onto the fire escape, effectively ending the conversation. "Which window is Commissioner Gordon's? We have to hurry and tell him what Pops is up to!"

Filing what he'd learned away in his head for later thought, the boy wonder scrambled down after him, passing him and taking the lead. "This one." He quickly picked the lock and slid the window open, lifting the blinds to climb through.

Gordon looked up from his desk, surprised. "Robin! Is everything all right? Where's Batman?"

"On his way sir, but we don't have time! Joker got away! After that stunt I pulled having JJ return Jordan in public, Batman thinks that Joker might try to go after JJ's grandmother to get even with him. We need you to put in a call to the Nazlini authorities and have them take her into protective custody."

Gordon nodded, reaching for his phone. "I'll get right on it." Speaking into the phone he added. "Get me the authorities of the Nazlini police force, it's on the apache reservation in Arizona…Yes, put me through as soon as you have them."

He returned his attention to the boy wonder. "What about JJ? Do you know what the Batman had in mind for him?"

Robin shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe another safe house?"

Gordon sighed and nodded. "That's about all we can do." He admitted. A puzzled look suddenly came over his face. "By the way, where is he?"

"What? He's right…" Robin turned, his voice trailing off as he realized his friend hadn't come through the window behind him. "Oh no…" He raced back to the window, sticking his head out and craning his neck, looking for any sign of the young clown.

Nothing.

"Robin?"

He looked up, and quickly backed up into the Commissioner's office to allow room for his mentor to climb through the window.

The dark knight stepped down off the window sill, his cape billowing around him in the breeze before settling down to completely cover him, despite the tear from the nights earlier excursions. His eyes swept the room, quickly noticing the absentee.

"Where's the son of the Joker?" he asked grimly.

Robin shook his head. "Gone." He bit his lip. "I wasn't paying attention." He admitted.

The dark knight settled a hand on his shoulder.

To an outsider, it might've almost seemed a stern gesture, as if ordering the boy to be silent, he'd get a scolding later. But to Robin it was a reassuring gesture, telling him that it was all right.

"He'll be going after the Joker now." Robin said softly, his eyes trailing their way back to the Commissioner's window.

Batman nodded grimly. "Agreed."

* * *

I know it's short, but I have to break it up like this. :)

Review please!

Untill next time...


	33. Confrontation

Very neary done guys! One more short chapter and an epilouge to go! And, before anyone complains about the shortness of the chapter, I made it this short to keep up the suspense. Aren't I evil? lol

Shout out's go to the amazing individuals known as: Smokeydirtcat, Teenagejustice, and Guest! You people rock!

* * *

ENJOY!

* * *

"He's _got_ to be here. This is the only one left! We have to…whoa!" JJ quickly ducked behind a bush, staring at the figure dressed in a purple suit the exact match to his own borrowed one.

The figure quickly went up the steps of the little two story house, unlocking the door with a key hidden on the lintel.

JJ shook his head. Of all the places he would've expected his father to hole up, this nice little house on the outskirts of town was one of the last places on _earth_ he would've thought to look! The neighborhood was a decent one, almost picture perfect.

No wonder the cops never found this place!

**_Oh, I'd say this is it!_** Mini me agreed, watching as the clown prince of crime let himself into the house and closed the door behind him. **_Now let's find a payphone and out his comedically challenged 'highness'! ...But…that's not exactly what you had in mind…Is it?_**

The young clown chuckled. "You catch on quick, Mini me! And you're right, I did have something else in mind."

**_Care to share?_** Mini me asked sarcastically.

JJ shrugged out of his backpack, carefully hiding it in the bush. Rising, he made his way toward the little house. "Because sharing is caring? No, I don't mind. And to be honest, I had a more 'face to face' method in mind…"

He could practically _feel _the waves of shock coming from Mini me. "Wow, I actually left _you_ speechless!"

Of course, the instant he said the word 'speechless', the sarcastic corner of his mind that had taken on a life of its own immediately found it's tongue.

**_Are you nuts? Didn't you learn anything the _****last** **_time you and that schizoid screwball had a run in? _**

JJ sighed, slipping around the side of the house to peer in at a window. **_Sadly…yes. _**He thought back at Mini me. **_That's why I'm going about it this way._**

**_Apparently not! _**Mini me yelled back. **_I'd have thought that a couple weeks in a glass box with a bum leg would've cemented_** **_that lesson in your mind! Let well enough alone! That psycho's not someone to mess with! So stop poking at the snake with a stick like an idiotic little kid!_**

JJ frowned, watching his father through the window. **_I would've thought you of _****all****_ people would be up for revenge if nothing else. Now you want to squelch out? _**

He'd gotten so used to talking aloud to Mini me, he was finding it difficult to keep his conversation silent now. He didn't dare speak aloud for fear of someone hearing him, specifically his father, though a police call from one of the neighbors about having seen a prowler could prove just as problematic!

**_No, I just choose to act in the interest of self preservation! _**Mini me answered acidly. **_I don't give two hoots about you, but if _****you****_ bite the proverbial whoopee cushion, so do I! Which leaves me with the nigh on _****impossible****_ task of keeping you from doing something incredibly stupid! _**

The young clown gave a dramatic sigh. **_You know, it's a sad state of affairs when even your own _****mind****_ doesn't give a care about you! _**JJ put his hand over his mouth to muffle an amused snort. **_'Bite the proverbial whoopee cushion'? And you wonder why I rarely listen to a word you say! I'm pretty sure the correct version is 'bite the proverbial bullet'!_**

**_And your father invented bullets that turn into whoopee cushions when fired, fill up with gas in a matter of seconds and explode on impact._**

JJ stopped for a moment, remembering his first encounter with those particular little goodies.

"…point taken." He muttered. "Now you take _mine_. _You_, are a corner of my psyche. My incredibly screwed up psyche, but still a part of it nonetheless! Thus, that means_ I'm_ the one in charge."

He started moving again, heading back towards the front door. "So if I say we go in. _We go in_. It's that simple."

Mini me was silent, and for a moment he thought he'd won the argument. But the annoying little voice had one more comment to make as the young clown made his way up the front stairs to the porch.

**_Oh for the love of a joy buzzer, we are _****so****_ gonna bite the 'whoopee bullet'! _**He groaned.

JJ shivered.

Mini me was probably right. But this was the only way he could think of to keep his friends and his grandma safe.

"Have a little faith Mini." He murmured, and pressed the doorbell. "Have a little faith…"

* * *

Joker grumbled and levered himself up out of his comfy arm chair.

His hat and purple suit coat thumped softly to the ground, accidentally nudged from their place across the armrest by his elbow. He debated picking them up, but quickly dismissed the idea when the doorbell rang again.

It was twelve o'clock at night, and the only one who knew about this place was Harley. Ipso ergo, that had to be Harley outside the door. Let her pick them up then, that's what she was there for!

The doorbell rang again, piquing his irritation.

"I'm coming! Hold your blasted Shetlands!" he bellowed, stomping through the house to the front door.

This was what he got for not leaving the key outside where she could get it!

"Jeeze Harley, what's the rush? You'd think the Batman was after you!" he yelled, throwing the door open. "Get in here al…ready…"

The purple clad figure beyond the front door gave him a chilling smile. "Hey Pops! Thought I'd just stop by to say hi!"

A fist impacted with the mad clowns nose, sending him reeling back to land on his butt in the front hall. He starred up through watering eyes as his son stepped over the threshold and bumped the door shut with his heel, locking it behind him.

"Hi!" JJ said with a grin. He put on a mock-sympathetic look. "Oh, did you trip? Here Pops, let me help you up!"

He grabbed his father by the front of his shirt, bodily hurling him through the door at the end of the short hall and into the living room.

Joker yowled as he impacted with the back of the couch. Groaning, he scrambled to his feet, jerking one his many knives from a pocket and holding it at the ready. His miscreant son merely grinned back at him, drawing a knife of his own.

The madman arched an eyebrow as his eyes finally registered what his son was wearing.

"Hmm…" He crossed his arms, fingering his chin thoughtfully and cocking his head to one side. He was faking nonchalance, but in reality his body was as taught as a bowstring. "Oh come now son, didn't I teach you better? To think a son of mine has been running around Gotham in that cheap rag of a suit…"

He tsked. "I would've thought you had a better fashion sense than that! Disgracefull…!"He shook his head in mock sorrow over his son's fashion faux pass.

"Well, when you're desperate…" JJ's grin widened and he gave an elaborate shrug. "Call it what you like Pops, it's _your_ suit! I borrowed it from the old Metro street hideout."

He twirled his knife on the tips of his fingers. "You haven't been doing so hot lately Pops! _Sixteen _botched jobs in, what…two weeks? Tsk tsk." He shook his head. "You're slippin' Pops."

Joker growled. "So it would seem." He agreed sarcastically, returning to his ready position. "I don't suppose _you'd_ happen to know anything about that, now would you?"

The smile dropped from his son's face, replaced by a cold rage. "Yes. I would."

He dropped into his own fighting stance, knife held at the ready in front of his body, but his grip was the reverse of his fathers. Instead of pointing upwards, the blade pointed down and was parallel with his forearm.

"Come on Pops." He hissed. "It's time you and I had one last Father/Son chat!"

"Why, I do believe it is!" Joker smirked. "Come on JJ, come to Papa…!"

* * *

DUN! Dun! dun!...Lol, I'll have the last chapter up tomorrow guys! Hope you liked!

Reveiw! You're running out of chances to do so!

Untill next time...


	34. Flaming Finish!

LAST CHAPTER! Hope you guys like it! I'm going to miss you guys SO much!

Shout outs to: Kaen Okami, Smokeydirtcat, Teenagejustice, and Guest! You amazing people are the one's I'm going to miss the most! You all get a box of virtual Bat cookies!

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ENJOY!

* * *

"Batman, the house! It's…" The boy wonder trailed off, staring at the little two story house.

Batman put his hand on his protégé's shoulder, stopping the boy before he could take more than two steps toward what was left of the Joker's hideout.

There was little left now but a burning, blackened framework.

"No Robin. There's nothing we can do."

Sirens sounded, and he gently drew the teen back into the shadows of a large pine tree in the front yard. They watched as the Gotham City firemen doused the fire and searched the wreckage for survivors….or victims.

Batman kept his hand on Robin's shoulder the entire time.

* * *

"Are you sure?" Commissioner Gordon asked.

The fireman nodded. "As sure as we can be sir." He answered.

Gordon sighed and nodded, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Thank you Tompkins." He turned, his eyes scanning for the darkest place in the immediate vicinity, and marking the shade of a large pine as the most likely place.

He made his way towards the tree, knowing that his friend liked the shadows, and that if the Batman wasn't there already he would be quick to join him there!

He wasn't disappointed. He hadn't been in the shadows more than a few seconds before the dark knight seemed to materialize in front of him, young Robin in tow.

"Commissioner." The dark knight said grimly.

The Commissioner took a long, deep breath. "It was arson. Our bomb squad expert says there was a large amount of explosive stored away in the basement. He's thinking it was dynamite, but we'll have to wait on the lab tests to be sure. We found several charred giant hammers and various other equipment, along with the fact that there was a trunk full of Joker suits thrown out in the back yard by the blast, so it's a pretty safe bet this was a Joker hideout."

"And JJ?" Robin asked anxiously.

Gordon winced. "The woman who made the call confirmed that two people entered the house. And she gave spot on descriptions of both the Joker and JJ before the officer ever showed her pictures of them. She never saw either of them leave."

Robin bit his lip, fighting to hide his emotions.

The woman lived just next door to the Joker's hideout, giving her an unobstructed view of the front and one side of the house. The back yard too if she was in one of the upstairs rooms. There was a chance that the clowns had escaped.

But it wasn't likely.

"Did you find their bodies?"

Gordon looked up at Batman in surprise, wondering how the dark knight could be so callous about this. Especially given Robin's friendship with the son of the Joker!

"No." he answered. "We haven't found any sign of someone being in the house when it blew so far."

"Then they aren't dead." Batman stated calmly.

"Commissioner?...We found something."

Commissioner Gordon slowly turned. **_No. Please no, not in front of Robin._**

Standing behind him was Officer Montoya. The raven haired policewoman held out what she'd been carrying, and he carefully took it.

It was an older, olive colored backpack that had obviously seen some use. It was somewhat dirty. And it was familiar. He quickly undid the buckles and opened the top flap. Inside was a carefully rolled net, set on top of some clothes, and spare knives.

"We found it in the bush over there, sir." Montoya added, gesturing to the bush in question. "And Tompkins asked me to tell you that they've completed their search of the house and surrounding area. There's no sign of anyone being caught in the blast."

Gordon nodded, passing it to Batman and Robin. "JJ's?"

"Yes." Robin answered. "That's the hammock Rick and Danny made for him."

Batman handed the bag to Robin. "We'll see that it gets to his grandmother." He said grimly. "See to it that the newspapers proclaim him dead, the body to be seen to in the usual fashion by the police force. That should satisfy the Joker and Harley."

The Commissioner was silent for a moment, carefully listening to the instructions.

In the early days he'd had a problem with the way the Batman issued orders, but he'd quickly learned that the man didn't mean it in a bad way. More often than not Batman was right.

And he had learned a trick or two about detective work from the man!

"Done. I'll see to it that the details of his death are kept as vague as possible. No knowing what the madman knows about his kid's escape."

Batman nodded. "Good." He looked down at his protégé for a moment, then slowly backed away into the shadows. Robin was quick to follow. In the blink of an eye, the darkness seemed to have swallowed them whole.

Montoya shook her head. "Is it just me, or does that still creep you out to?"

Gordon gave her a smile. "A little." He admitted. "But not as much as it used to…"

* * *

Batman crouched, carefully tracing the various footprints in the ash and dirt. "He made it out."

Robin darted away from the burnt out ruins he'd been examining. "Who?" he asked eagerly, kneeling on one knee to look at the tracks in front of the Batman and setting JJ's backpack on the ground.

"Both of them."

Robin frowned. "Are you sure?"

Batman gave him a look. "Unless Gotham's police and fire department have taken to wearing wing tip shoes, I'd say the clowns made it out." He traced one of the tracks. "Joker wears a size twelve shoe. Meaning this print is his."

He gestured away to his left. "I found a similar set of tracks over there, only smaller. JJ borrowed the suit, but the shoes are still too large for him. He kept his own shoes. So it is a safe assumption that those tracks are his."

Robin nodded, eyeing the various tracks and the space between them. "If JJ's tracks were out past the corner of the house, Joker might not have seen him get out!"

Batman nodded. "Exactly."

Robin smiled and stood, snagging the backpack along the way. "I'm gonna take this back to the car ok? You almost done?"

Batman nodded. "Go. I'll meet you there in a few minutes."

* * *

The top hatch of the Bat Mobile slid shut over his head with a gentle his and a click as it locked.

Robin settled the backpack in his lap, leaning his head back against the headrest. He was tired. It had been a long day.

**_This isn't my first trip to Gotham you know…_**

Robin sat bolt upright, his eyes snapping open. "…you saved the life of Damon Cliffrunner…"

He pushed the backpack forward to rest on the floor on top of his feet. His fingers flew across the keyboard, pulling up mug shots and records of past crimes.

It took him less than five minutes to find the file he wanted.

A mugging, a couple years ago. A couple hoods had tried to hold up an old woman. She had three kids with her. Things got out of hand when a GCPD patrolman had happened on the scene, and the youngest had been held at gunpoint.

Batman and a young, wet behind the ears Robin had saved them, Batman acting as a distraction while Robin hit the mugger from behind.

None of the victims were harmed.

The three kids had been here for a school competition, having made it to the national level. The old woman was the grandmother of the youngest boy, and had come as a chaperone.

Robin scrolled down the screen, looking for the names of the victims.

There. The old woman's name was Leosani Cliffrunner. The older children were a pair of twins named Charles and Danae White Wolf. The youngest boy was Damon Cliffrunner, Leosani's grandson.

Robin remembered it now.

The three scared kids, and the feisty old woman threatening to beat the mugger off with her walking stick. And he remembered thinking at the time how weird it was that they were all native American, and should have brown eyes, and yet the youngest boy didn't.

He had quite the unique set of blue grey.

* * *

Yay! The last chapter is finally up! Epilouge to be posted shortly!

See that blue button down there? Yeah, that one! Go on ahead and push it! You're only gonna get one more chance after this!

Until next time...


	35. Epilogue

(Sniffles) ...this is it gentle readers. The end of the long road. I'm going to miss all of you amazing people who've been here with me from the start!

Shout out to Smokeydirtcat, the one and only fantastic one who commented on the last chapter! You my dear are amazing and have been here right from the beggining and I will miss you SO much!

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ENJOY!

* * *

Eyes watched from the shadows as the Bat Mobile drove away. A smile gently pulled at brilliant red lips, showing luridly against icy pale skin.

But the figure made no move, either to follow them or escape into the night. It simply sat there on the roof of a neighboring house, hidden in the shadow of a brick chimney.

The fight had been intense, and he had no idea who would've won in the end.

Father and son seemed to have been evenly matched without the advantage of surprise. Though the fight had slanted significantly in favor of the father when a gun had become involved!

Or so they had thought.

One stray bullet had been all it took to blow the house sky high! It had taken everything they'd had to get out alive, though neither had made it out the same way, and both were doubtful of the other's survival.

Right now he could care less whether the other had survived or not.

He would worry about that later. He'd have to be off this roof by sunrise, but that was all right. Couldn't have the locals outing him. For now, he would sit here and lick his wounds. And not even that at the moment!

Right now, the only thing that moved were his eyes.

And those eyes followed the Bat Mobile. He watched as it rolled past the house he was sitting on, heading back towards the city and swiftly disappearing into the dark.

The smile widened a little as he watched the Bat Mobile's tail lights fade away.

He leaned back against the chimney, wincing a little at his various knife wounds. Oh yes, he'd be hurting in the morning. He was hurting now actually.

Blue gray eyes caught the star light, making them glitter.

Oh yes he hurt, but if there was one thing Leosani had taught him, it was that every wound mends with time…

* * *

FINISHED!

* * *

Before you panic, this is not the end of JJ's journey, it's just the end of _this_ story! I just felt this particular one had gone on far enough. There will be a sequel, and it will be set in the Young Justice universe. I'm not 100% certain on title yet, but it will probably be something along the lines of "Howl of the Trickster". Hope to see you all there!

Last chance fellas, press the little blue button while you can!

Here's hoping you had as much fun reading this as I did writing it!


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